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By Kevin Robillard | 06/05/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Scott Bland

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)

THE RURAL JURORS - "Senate Democrats try to spark rural comeback in 2018," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) has declared war on almond milk as she prepares to run for reelection in 2018. Though not a cause célèbre driving political talk on cable news, plant-based beverages called milk are a major sore spot for dairy farmers in Wisconsin, where President Donald Trump swept up to 71 percent of the vote in rural counties last November. ... While many voters in rural areas complained that Democrats forgot them in 2016, and party strategists rush this year to find a new message to bring them back in the fold, Democratic senators up for reelection in
2018 have little time to spare to fix their party's issues. ... And they are focused this year on winning back voters their party has failed to connect with since the last time they appeared on the ballot."

- " ... While Republicans concede that Democrats' emphasis on local issues is smart politics, it hints at an unpleasant truth, said Scott Jennings, a GOP consultant and former deputy political director in the George W. Bush White House. Jennings said the early moves are also a sign that the national Democratic Party could be a liability in the next election. 'The reason they're having to localize these things is because they have so badly failed at making their national message anything recognizable to people who used to be Democrats in rural America,' Jennings said." Full story.

2018 WATCH - "Montana AG declines Senate run against Tester," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider: "Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, a Republican, has decided not to run for Senate against Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in 2018, according to two GOP sources with knowledge of the decision. Fox is the second high-profile potential challenger to opt against a bid, following Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's decision in December to join President Donald Trump's Cabinet instead." Full story.

- How quickly did the situation in Montana change? According to a GOP source, NRSC executive director Chris Hansen had just told attendees at a Thursday PAC briefing that Fox was going to run and defeat Tester in 2018.

- Nolan opts against Minnesota governor run: "Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan won't run for governor of Minnesota in 2018, he announced [Friday], saying he feels a duty to remain in Washington during the Trump administration. ... 'America is at a tipping point, and I feel compelled to devote all of my energy and experience to moving our nation forward" in Washington, Nolan wrote on Facebook. ... Nolan's decision means he will be able to defend his 8th District in 2018, after it also trended significantly to the right. The rural district went for Trump with 54 percent of the vote in 2016 after then-President Barack Obama won 52 percent in 2012." Full story.

GOV WATCH - "DeSantis makes moves to run for governor," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: "Rep. Ron DeSantis is quietly exploring a bid for Florida governor next year as he meets with potential donors, chats up possible campaign staff and fields endorsements from fellow conservatives. DeSantis, 38, who briefly ran for U.S. Senate last year before Marco Rubio decided to seek reelection, acknowledged that he's examining a campaign. But he wouldn't say much more beyond that or comment on what could be a bruising primary against Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, the likely GOP frontrunner, who last month launched his campaign." Full story.

- "Georgia Democrat aims to be nation's first female African American governor," by the Washington Post's Vanessa Williams in Albany, Ga.: "Stacey Abrams, a Georgia politician who embodies what many progressives argue is the future of the Democratic Party, launched what she hopes will be a history-making campaign Saturday when she officially announced her candidacy for governor of the Peach State. The 43-year-old Democratic leader of the Georgia State House, who enters as the front-runner for her party's nomination, is aiming to become the first African American woman to be elected governor in U.S. history. ... [J]ust 11 black women have ever been elected to statewide positions nationwide."
Full story.

- "Pro-Trump loyalist Michael Williams enters governor race," by the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Greg Bluestein: "Republican Michael Williams entered the race for governor on Thursday, pinning his campaign on his outspoken support for Donald Trump as he hopes the same anti-establishment wave that elected the president propels him to Georgia's highest office. ... he has already attacked GOP rivals he deems not sufficiently pro-Trump as 'disingenuous.' ... A businessman who once owned a chain of Sport Clips barber shops, Williams indicated last year he would run for secretary of state. But energized by Trump's victory, he hinted repeatedly that he would aim for the state's highest job
instead." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 154.

Days until the 2018 election: 518.

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

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

VIRGINIA FUNDRAISING - Perriello raises $1.8 million, has $734K on hand: Former Rep. Tom Perriello raised $1.8 million in the last fundraising period before the Virginia Democratic gubernatorial primary, his campaign announced, and has just under $734,000 on hand. The Perriello campaign noted 2009 Democratic primary winner Creigh Deeds has just $525,000 on hand at the same point of the race. Perriello's primary rival, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, hasn't released his fundraising numbers yet. The deadline to report is Monday.

- And he's ruling out oil and gas money: Perriello, who has made his refusal to take money from Dominion Power a key talking point in the primary, on Thursday signed a pledge not to take any money from the oil, gas or coal industries. He's the first gubernatorial candidate to sign a pledge sponsored by ClimateTruth.org Action, Climate Hawks Vote, 350 Action and other groups. The sponsors plan to push Democrats throughout the country to sign the pledge in 2018. The pledge is here.

ONLINE MONEY MILESTONE - ActBlue announced on Friday that it crossed $200 million raised in 2017, across 4,404 organizations. That's more money than passed through the Democratic online fundraising platform in all of 2015, the previous electoral off-year.

TRUMP ON THE TRAIL - "President Donald Trump to headline fundraiser for Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin," by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Bill Glauber and Daniel Bice: "President Donald Trump will come to southeastern Wisconsin later this month to headline a fundraiser for Gov. Scott Walker. The event will be held June 13 in the evening, but the location hasn't been set. Although no public event has yet been scheduled, it's customary for a president to couple a fundraiser with an official appearance." Full story.

- "Trump to host fund-raiser for South Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur," by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Tamari: "President Trump will host a fund-raiser June 11 for South Jersey Congressman Tom MacArthur, using his New Jersey golf club to help a lawmaker facing intense criticism after playing a key role in pushing the GOP's Affordable Care Act rollback through the House. The event at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster is soliciting donations ranging from $5,400 per couple up to $100,000 raised and donated by hosts, according to an invitation obtained by the Inquirer." Full story.

SHARKS AND JETS - "New governor toured Iowa on casino tycoon's jet," by the AP's Ryan J. Foley and Barbara Rodriguez: "For her first trip across Iowa as governor, Republican Kim Reynolds sought and accepted the free use of a jet owned by a wealthy businessman who is lobbying for state approval to build a lucrative casino. ... In response to inquiries from The Associated Press, the governor's office said the pair, a state trooper and staffers traveled in an airplane owned by businessman Gary Kirke, who donated the use of the plane and services of two pilots as in-kind contributions to Reynolds' newly established gubernatorial campaign. The arrangement, while apparently allowed under ethics
rules, is drawing criticism from Reynolds' opponents, highlighting Kirke's cozy relationship with the administration and raising security questions." Full story.

- GOP Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett will announce a primary challenge to Reynolds at the end of June, the Quad City Times reports.

YOUR DAILY GEORGIA - Ossoff releases second attack ad on Planned Parenthood: The ad features four breast cancer survivors praising Planned Parenthood's cancer screenings and criticizing Republican Karen Handel for stopping funding for Planned Parenthood while she was an executive at Susan G. Komen. Watch the ad here.

TOWN HALL WATCH - "Issa walks fine line at town hall in divided district," by Rachael Bade in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.: " John Mathews, a self-described retired technology guru and life-long Republican from the coastal town of Del Mar, Calif., is a Darrell Issa voter. But during a Saturday morning town hall here in an affluent Southern Californian neighborhood, Matthews lit into the nine-term Republican congressman for failing to do more to stop Russia's interference in the 2016 election. 'I want to know when you and the Republican Party are going to stand up, use your political capital, and recognize that our democracy is under attack from an adversary,' he asked Issa. ... [A]nger from
the left - and more than a little from his own party - has dogged Issa here in a Republican-leaning part of his increasingly Democratic district. Every seat in a nearly 500-person auditorium at the San Juan Hills High School was filled, and hundreds of constituents protested outside, irate that they couldn't get in." Full story.

LURCHING LEFT - "The Single-Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left on Health Care," by the New York Times' Alexander Burns and Jennifer Medina: "[A]s Democrats regroup from their 2016 defeat, leaders say the party has plainly shifted well to the left on the issue, setting the stage for a larger battle over the health care system in next year's congressional elections and the 2020 presidential race. Their liberal base, emboldened by Senator Bernie Sanders's forceful advocacy of government-backed health care last year, is increasingly unsatisfied with the Affordable Care Act and is demanding more drastic changes to the private health insurance system. ... Representative Rick Nolan of Minnesota, a
populist Democrat whose district voted for President Trump by a wide margin, said he had rarely seen core Democratic voters as enthusiastic about an issue as they were about single-payer health care. Mr. Nolan said he would support creating a state-level system in Minnesota, but believed the party's goal should be a national law." Full story.

JERSEY YAWN - "As governor candidates make frantic final primary push, N.J. asks: 'What election?,'" by Claude Brodesser-Akner: "Over the last 90 years, primary voter turnout for New Jersey governor's races has never cracked 40 percent and went as low as 9 percent four years ago. [Monmouth University pollster Patrick] Murray says New Jersey would be lucky to hit 12 percent in next week's election. ... Part of the problem, of course, is that New Jersey sits nestled between the New York and Philadelphia media markets, with few ways to speak directly to most residents. 'We still live in a media desert,' said Brad Lawrence, the head of the New Brunswick marketing firm 4CM&M, and the ad guru
behind Murphy's campaign." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The tone, the exact words that were spoken and the context is so important. We can only get that by talking to those directly involved." - Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on CBS' Face the Nation, regarding former FBI Director James Comey's upcoming congressional testimony and the circumstances that led to his firing, via POLITICO.

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