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By Elena Schneider | 03/29/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard, Daniel Strauss and Zach Montellaro

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro's Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races - and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day's most important campaign news - sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

GRINDING IT OUT - "Raimondo readying for rematch in Rhode Island," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Reelection should be smooth sailing for Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo. Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016 by double digits, and the political environment looks even better for Democrats this year. Within the Democratic Party, Raimondo is regarded as one of the smartest and most capable governors in the country. She's also set to one day chair the Democratic Governors Association. And yet Democrats are still expecting her campaign this year to be a grind-it-out affair. ... For a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 3-to-1 margin, Rhode Island has a history of
electing Republicans to state office." Full story.

SPECIAL ELECTION SEASON - "New Mississippi senator meets with White House officials," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to the seat longtime GOP Sen. Thad Cochran is vacating over objections from senior Republicans, met with top White House officials on Wednesday. The meeting, which according to two Republicans familiar with the visit included members of the White House political affairs office, came one week after the administration told Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant that President Donald Trump had no current plans to endorse or campaign for her. The White House, along with either other senior party officials, have expressed concern
that Hyde-Smith, who had been serving as the state's agriculture commissioner, could lose the special election being held later this year to fill out the remainder of Cochran's term, which expires in 2020." Full story.

PRIMARY SEASON - "How the Bernie Wing Won the Democratic Primaries," by POLITICO's Charlie Mahtesian: "With his primary election victory last week, Illinois Congressman Dan Lipinski - a Blue Dog and cultural conservative - won the first major 2018 battle between the Democratic Party's establishment and progressive wings. But don't be confused about what it means. The war is already over, and the establishment lost. Even though only two states have actually voted so far this primary election season - Texas, a red-state redoubt, and Illinois, a blue-state stronghold - the battle for supremacy this primary season is all but complete. In state after state, the left is proving to be the
animating force in Democratic primaries, producing a surge of candidates who are forcefully driving the party toward a more liberal orientation on nearly every issue." Full story.

SIGN OF THE TIMES - Kelly tells local outlet he won't back Pelosi: Democratic congressional candidate Brendan Kelly told The Southern that he won't support Nancy Pelosi for speaker if Democrats take over the House. "I think we need new leadership in both parties and that's just how I feel and I feel that way because the way it's currently going in D.C. has not served the people of southern Illinois," said Kelly, who's running for the state's 12th District.

- That Conor Lamb playbook - Read this refresher on how red-district Democrats like Kelly watched how Lamb successfully navigated the Pelosi question. Full story.

MESSAGING STRATEGY - "Lamb benefited from anti-special interest message in PA-18 special," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "A majority of voters in this month's special congressional election in western Pennsylvania were aware of Democrat Conor Lamb's stance against taking money from special interests, according to a new poll commissioned by End Citizens United, and almost a fifth of Lamb voters cited his position on special interest money as the reason for their vote. The poll, conducted by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, indicates money in politics may have been a key issue for Lamb in his razor-thin victory over Republican Rick Saccone." Full story.

- GIRLS RULE - "In campaigns, women highlight gender in pitch to voters," by The Associated Press's Christina A. Cassidy: "Women running for governor in Wisconsin and Maryland breastfeed their infants in campaign videos. Another in Georgia tells voters that 'the folks who have held the office of governor don't look like me.' The record number of women expected to run for office this year are already breaking barriers, upending traditional campaigning by emphasizing their gender as they introduce themselves to an electorate they hope is eager for change." Full story.

Days until the 2018 election: 222.

Upcoming election dates - Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia primaries: May 8.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

Campaign Pro Race Dashboard, POLITICO Pro's campaign tracking solution, is revamped and ready for 2018. Dive into campaigns with biographical candidate pages and a dedicated race dashboard for each House, Senate and gubernatorial contest. You also get access to FEC campaign finance data for federal elections. Get started.

FROM THE COURT - "Justices cast doubt on partisan redistricting," by POLITICO's Steven Shepard: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with a case with the potential to reorder the country's political landscape: How much gerrymandering is too much gerrymandering? Republicans who sued to overturn the congressional district lines that Maryland implemented after the 2010 census map found allies in the court's four liberal justices, who expressed sympathy for their claims during oral arguments. What's less clear is whether those four can recruit another justice to their side - the most likely targets would be Chief Justice John Roberts or Justice Anthony Kennedy, typically the high court's
swing vote on election-law cases. Both asked tough questions, but neither tipped their hand." Full story.

OOPS! - Renacci "didn't report $50K in donations as registered lobbyist," by The Associated Press's Julie Carr Smyth: "Rep. Jim Renacci failed to disclose nearly $50,000 in political contributions while registered as a Washington lobbyist starting in the late 2000s, according to an Associated Press review of federal records. The AP review identified five reporting periods from 2008 to 2010 while the Ohio Republican was registered as a lobbyist when he either failed to file the required disclosure form or reported giving no political contributions when he had given. ... Renacci's campaign said that he never lobbied. They said he was registered as the lobbyist with the consulting firm he
helped launch in 2008, Smokerise International Group, as a precautionary measure." Full story.

SHE'S OFF - "Theresa Greenfield knocked off primary ballot - again - after opinion from attorney general," by The Des Moines Register's Jason Noble: "Embattled Iowa congressional candidate Theresa Greenfield was again denied access to the June primary ballot on Wednesday. ... Late Wednesday, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller issued an opinion finding state law did not allow a Democratic committee to place Greenfield on the party's primary ballot." Full story.

- Greenfield tweeted that she will "accept" the AG's decision. Read the tweet here.

NOT GREAT - "McCaskill asked black leaders to push back on criticism of her campaign. No one would," by the Kansas City Star's Lindsay Wise, Jason Hancock and Bryan Lowry: "African-American leaders in Missouri are frustrated with what they see as Sen. Claire McCaskill's lackluster engagement with minority voters. Frustrated enough that they refused to sign a letter pushing back against comments made last month by Bruce Franks, a prominent black activist and state legislator from St. Louis who called on McCaskill to 'show up' and earn the support of minority voters in her state. ... In response to Franks' comments, McCaskill had asked African-American elected officials in Kansas City and St.
Louis to sign the letter. Among those who were approached by McCaskill are U.S. Reps. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City, Mo., and Lacy Clay of St. Louis and state Rep. Gail McCann Beatty, the minority leader in the Missouri House. Each declined to sign." Full story.

COMING TO AN AD NEAR YOU - "Pence sells Trump agenda to Minnesota Republicans," by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's J. Patrick Coolican: "Vice President Mike Pence rallied Republicans in downtown Minneapolis on Wednesday, selling the party's tax cuts and talking up the state of the U.S. and Minnesota economies under President Donald Trump. ... In a press release, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee highlighted a portion of Pence's speech where he thanked [Rep. Erik] Paulsen for 'fighting every day shoulder to shoulder with President Trump.'" Full story.

ON THE AIRWAVES - Miller pops TV ad on biography in WV-03: Republican Carol Miller launched a TV ad that emphasizes her work as a state legislator, including her efforts "to make the Bible our state book." The ad also says she "prays before every vote, and she'll do the same in Congress." The ad's narrator calls her a "no-nonsense conservative" who will "take on the swamp." Watch the ad here.

- Kerr releases TV ad in CA-49: Democrat Paul Kerr is out with a TV ad that talks about college affordability, including his own struggle to attend college and graduating "with over $20,000 in student loans." Watch the ad here.

NOT ON THE SAME PAGE - "Vulnerable Senate Democrats feel the heat from 2020 hopefuls," by NBC News' Leigh Ann Caldwell: "Senate Democrats have served as their party's most important bulwark against the agendas of President Donald Trump and the GOP congressional majority for over a year now. But beneath the solidarity they have displayed are growing tensions being fueled by considerations of two very different electoral tracks - this year's midterm elections and the 2020 presidential race." Full story.

SCRUBBING - "Bishop drops gun, union stances from campaign site," by The Detroit News' Melissa Nann Burke: "Republican Rep. Mike Bishop's support of the Second Amendment, right-to-carry legislation and his A/A+ rating from the National Rifle Association have been removed from his campaign website. The change comes as Republicans are increasingly worried about casualties in vulnerable U.S. House districts in the fall midterm elections, and as student survivors of last month's school shooting in Parkland, Fla., keep up calls for action on gun reform." Full story.

CAMPAIGN SWING - Collins to campaign for Midwestern Republicans: Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, is in the middle of a Midwestern campaign swing, appearing with Rep. Billy Long in Missouri, and then Reps. Kevin Yoder and Ron Estes in Kansas.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Could Donald Trump be, um, primaried?" - Mike Murphy, a Republican consultant, asks that question in a POLITICO op-ed.

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