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By Theodoric Meyer | 01/19/2016 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard, Scott Bland and Elena Schneider

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)

RULING IT OUT (ALMOST) - Schweikert suggests he won't challenge McCain: GOP Rep. Dave Schweikert, who's been recruited by conservative groups hoping to oust GOP Sen. John McCain, signaled on Saturday that he wouldn't run - while leaving the door open just a crack. "The polling was amazing, but we came to the conclusion that we're just not seeing the money to do it," Schweikert told The Arizona Republic's Dan Nowicki. But Schweikert also said that the baby that he and his wife recently adopted wouldn't prevent a run. "The adoption process earlier had been viewed as an obstacle to a U.S. Senate run, but once it happened, they realized their baby, Olivia, 'is more portable right now than she
ever is going to be in her life,' he said. Schweikert added that, despite conventional wisdom, it wouldn't be too late for him to launch a Senate campaign, but emphasized that the fundraising needed for a hard-fought race against McCain isn't there." Let the speculation continue. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=001cf4fbfed6d69110dbdfffc410ecb4e9359448ddb03aa3844c6886841246de

PLAY IT AGAIN - "Democrats reboot 'war on women' tactics in Colorado," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=001cf4fbfed6d691757d3725fb6a6cea7f8f99ebd03d017798cf17971d81ae77

CASH HUSTLE - "Strickland fights fundraising headwinds in Ohio," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=001cf4fbfed6d69168cc06bd73e47aa4a84de1bbb74841fd1666c5bb2673916c

Days until the Iowa caucuses: 13. Days until the 2016 election: 294.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally retweet amazing David Bowie stories: @politicoscott,@ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @kyledcheney.

OUTSIDE MONEY - "J Street launches 2016 offensive," by POLITICO's Anna Palmer: As national security continues to dominate the presidential primary season, J Street is launching an aggressive political campaign. The liberal-leaning pro-Israel group, which expects to raise more than $3 million through its political action committee for federal candidates, is also going on the offensive against Republican Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who opposed the Iran nuclear deal. ... The group has already raised more than $1 million and plans to support more than 110 candidates this year. J Street, which raised $2.4 million and supported 95 candidates in the 2014 election
cycle, is not currently running TV or radio ads. But Shnider said 'all tactics are on the table.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff414087817ff5b4e3fd6b6bd76d047fb0b61a8e2e72a36267048f7

FIRST IN SCORE - Gottheimer raises $375,000 in fourth quarter: Democrat Josh Gottheimer, who's challenging GOP Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey's 5th District, raised roughly $375,000 in the fourth quarter, giving him about $1.25 million in cash on hand, his campaign said. Garrett has not released fundraising numbers yet. Gottheimer raised more than twice what Garrett brought in last quarter after Garrett turned off some donors by saying he would not give to the National Republican Congressional Committee because it supports gay candidates.

FIRST IN SCORE - Dold raises $460,000 in fourth quarter: GOP Rep. Bob Dold, who's facing one of the toughest reelection races in the country in Illinois' 10th District, raised $460,000 in the fourth quarter, giving him $1.5 million in cash on hand, according to his campaign. Neither of Dold's Democratic rivals have released fundraising totals yet.

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, delivers not only TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters, but also targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad solutions. Contact Alan Brittan @ 703-236-9673. Sinclair, busy - Making Political Ads Work! **

GRAHAM CRACKS - Rep. Gwen Graham details her political future after redistricting: The freshman Democrat sat for an interview with The Tallahassee Democrat on her first year in Congress - and whether there might be future years. Graham: "A lot will depend on if [Rep.] Corrine [Brown] runs because I would not primary Corrine. If she made the decision to run in District 10 then I would have to consider District 5. ... I'm not naive. I recognize how tough District 2 would be. It will (be) a very, very tough decision. If I am running for office, it is my commitment to serve in that office to the best of my ability."

- Graham on running statewide in the future: "My dad has a saying and I believe it 100 percent: 'You gain the right to consider future options by the job you do today,' and I'm focused on doing the best job I can as the congressional representative of Florida's 2nd District."http://on.tdo.com/1nuzmzp

PERSONNEL MOVES - Former Walker campaign staffer to handle comms for GOP convention: Kirsten Kukowski, who worked as Scott Walker's communications director during his aborted run for president, will serve in the same role for the GOP's Committee on Arrangements, which organizes the convention, The Plain Dealer's Andrew J. Tobias reports. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff41408087b813267d517e69e112935bb6284817849e2082707426c

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Cruz pummels Trump on immigration," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck in Whitefield, N.H.: Ted Cruz went after Donald Trump more forcefully than he ever has in front of voters on Monday evening, saying Trump was "nowhere to be found" as Cruz was pushing to defeat an immigration reform bill. "If you didn't stand up and fight amnesty when the stakes were live or die, when the stakes were, 'Do we lose this permanently or do we win?' then I would suggest as voters you have reason to doubt the credibility of the promises of a political candidate who discovered the issue after he announces for president," Cruz said. He also took jabs at Trump for supporting bank bailouts and
embracing eminent domain. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff41408533b930645d1ce6d39872106bbf95009d77f59b620e460c3

- "Trump calls for Christian unity at Liberty U.," by POLITICO's Ben Schreckinger in Lynchburg, Va.: "Saying other religions are doing the same, Donald Trump called on Christians to "band together" and "unify" at an address to Liberty University students on Martin Luther King Jr. Day." Trump is vying with Ted Cruz for evangelical support two weeks ahead of the caucuses in Iowa, where evangelicals are a crucial voting bloc. "Jerry Falwell Jr., the university's current president, said he was not endorsing the businessman, but he came just shy of doing so, describing Trump in his introductory remarks Monday as the only presidential candidate who 'cannot be bought.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff414087994ce500020dce3f2bc2d75031f35f6f35b9d52ef81a690

- Jonathan Cody Hildebrand, a Liberty sophomore studying marketing, told The Washington Post that "he likes Trump, Cruz and Carson - but he plans to vote in the Virginia primary for Trump because he has the best chance of beating Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton."http://wapo.st/1nudYKL

- "Trump's bad bet: How too much debt drove his biggest casino aground," by The Washington Post's Robert O'Harrow Jr.: When Donald Trump wanted to buy the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, N.J., he told state gambling regulators that he could do it without taking out high-interest loans known as junk bonds. But he couldn't. Unable to get better rates, Trump turned to junk bonds and went bankrupt three years later. "Trump took extreme risks in a shaky economy, leveraged the Taj deal with high-cost debt, and ignored warnings that Atlantic City would not be able to attract enough gamblers to pay the bills," The Post reports in a deep-dive investigation into the deal.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff41408f37a3077f0d581fc8bc88eb69fcd81bc7497ff21a24993a6

- "Boots? Marco Rubio wants to talk guns and football," by The New York Times' Jeremy W. Peters and Michael Barbaro in Waverly, Iowa:Marco Rubio has been taking a macho tone on the campaign trail recently as his GOP "rivals have tried to infantilize or even feminize him - none more than Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who speculated recently that Mr. Rubio would get creamed by Hillary Clinton in a general election: 'She'll pat him on the head and then cut his heart out.' On Monday, Mr. Christie again spoke of the 44-year-old Mr. Rubio as if he were a child, telling Fox News, 'This is a first-term senator who still is learning where the men's room is in the Senate, let alone figuring out
how to lead a country.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff41408bb35c882103374331ef02ace7f31ac58088cbe9155f8f69d

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He does lose his temper quite often, but Jesus lost his temper quite often, too." - Kenny Brown, a 62-year-old Virginian who owns a company that makes machine parts, on why he likes Donald Trump. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=63878e5baff41408aeaf51727ad3ee9c5b588e67e52146531d8ef42b232a1dc1

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: The race for influence in the 2016 election cycle is gaining speed. Everyone is looking to reach as big of an audience as possible and get significant portions of that audience motivated and educated enough to vote and mobilize probable supporters. As the pace quickens, more will be trying to find an edge to influence voters their way. Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, can help you break through the clutter. Utilizing both TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters and targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad solutions, Sinclair
Makes Political Ads Work! The bottom line is the bottom line - winning elections. At the Sinclair Broadcast Group, we have the ad tools necessary to help you to persuade, enlighten and activate voters. Contact Alan Brittan, Sinclair's Director of Political Ads for more details @ 703-236-9673. **

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