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By Zach Montellaro and Scott Bland | 06/25/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Daniel Strauss

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)

BEHIND ACTBLUE EYES - We still have three weeks to go until the second-quarter FEC deadline, but the latest monthly filing from ActBlue, the Democratic online fundraising platform, gives us a sneak peek at where Democratic candidates and committees stood after the first two months of the quarter, at least on the digital side.

A few highlights: Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) continues to be the highest-raising Senate candidate online, bringing in over $1.5 million in April and boosting his two-month online total to almost $3.5 million. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) also both cleared seven figures in April and May combined. Baldwin raised $596,000 online in May, according to ActBlue's filing, while Nelson and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) each raised just over $530,000. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) cleared a half-million, too.

Sanders' biggest day was May 21, per the filing, when he sent his email list a message with the subject line "I am running" - about his 2018 Senate campaign. Just more than half of his online money came in from May 21-23. Sanders doesn't appear to be hitting his email list very often, but money pours in when he does.

On the House side, House Intel Chairman Devin Nunes' (R-Calif.) opponent, Andrew Janz, took in the most in May, raising $461,000 for his long-shot campaign in CA-22. The next-highest House contender was KY-06's Amy McGrath, who brought in $292,000 online.

One other House trend to watch: Danny O'Connor, the Democratic nominee in the OH-12 special, jumped up to six figures raised online in a month for the first time. He's not yet raking in money at the same rate as other Democratic special election candidates have this cycle, but there's also a ways to go until the Aug. 7 election. We'll be watching to see if fundraising ramps up again in June, or if independent polling showing Republican Troy Balderson with a healthy lead prevents O'Connor from taking off.

Check out our full breakdown of those May digital fundraising numbers including a table showing how every Democratic candidate and committee did last month on the platform.

PALMETTO POLITICKING - President Donald Trump is going all in for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. McMaster, one of the president's earliest supporters, is facing off against businessman John Warren in the GOP primary runoff on Tuesday, and Trumpworld is putting all of its political might behind McMaster to try to drag him across the finish line. Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Trump has previewed his pitch for the governor on Twitter in recent days, repeatedly praising McMaster for his 2016 endorsement and touting him as 'tough on Crime and Strong on Borders, Healthcare, the Military and our great Vets.' McMaster, meanwhile, has made Trump's support a centerpiece of his reelection bid
...

"Trump remains popular, regardless of what happens in the state, said Katon Dawson, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party - though the outcome of the primary runoff will put a focus on Trump's clout within his party. A McMaster win, Dawson said, would reflect well on the president, but a loss for the governor would raise questions about the limits of Trump's primary endorsements."

- Vice President Mike Pence was also part of the pitch, campaigning with McMaster on Saturday. The Post and Courier's dispatch from the rally in Conway, S.C., pegged the crowd at about 500. The president's rally is tonight at a high school gym in Cayce, South Carolina.

Good Monday morning. A thanks to Campaign Pro head honcho Scott Bland (sbland@politico.com/ @PoliticoScott) for the breakdown of ActBlue's fundraising. I really enjoyed this story on CampaignExpo from Washingtonian's Amanda Whiting. As always, you can reach me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me on Twitter at @ZachMontellaro. Daniel Strauss ( dstrauss@politico.com/ @DanielStrauss4) contributed today.

You can email the rest of the great Campaign Pro team at mseverns@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com and jarkin@politico.com. Follow us on Twitter: @MaggieSeverns, @ec_schneider and @JamesArkin.

Join POLITICO Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, and Playbook Florida author Marc Caputo, for a special Playbook Elections event in the battleground state of Florida to discuss the 2018 midterm cycle and issues shaping the races. This event is part of the POLITICO-AARP "Deciders" series and will feature exclusive interviews with Nelson Diaz, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, David Richardson and Donna Shalala about their candidacies and campaign efforts to address the issues that matter most to voters. The event will take place on Friday, June 29, at InterContinental Miami. Doors will open at 8 a.m. RSVP here.

Days until the 2018 election: 134.

Upcoming election dates - June 26: Colorado, Maryland, New York (congressional), Oklahoma and Utah primaries and Mississippi and South Carolina primary runoffs. - July 17: Alabama primary runoffs. - July 24: Georgia primary runoffs.

Upcoming primary filing deadlines - Rhode Island: June 27. - Delaware: July 10.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON - Donald Trump Jr. is following in his father's footsteps and taking a leading role in the GOP. But does he have grander plans? Campaign Pro's James Arkin and Maggie Severns: "This past Friday, Trump Jr. headlined a fundraiser in Montana that raised more than $130,000 for Matt Rosendale. ... The president's 40-year-old son, who remains a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, is using the trips to establish a political identity independent of his father's. It's fueling speculation that he's eyeing elected office himself someday, though allies say he's happy serving as a liaison to his father's base during the run-up to 2020 and building out a
noncandidate role in Republican politics."

CANDIDATE INJURED IN CAR CRASH - Katie Arrington, the Republican who defeated Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) in the GOP primary in South Carolina's 1st District, was involved in a serious car crash late Friday night. She was a passenger in a car that was struck by a car going the wrong direction, according to The Post and Courier. Arrington suffered major injuries. She will likely remain in the hospital for at least two weeks and face several more surgeries (including some on Sunday), according to her campaign. As of Saturday she was in critical but stable condition (the driver of her car was in critical condition, according to the newspaper, and the other driver was killed.). Sanford, many
other South Carolinian politicians and President Donald Trump sent their well wishes, and her Democratic opponent Joe Cunningham announced he would suspend his campaign until further notice.

MORE TRUMP ENDORSEMENTS - The president spent his weekend endorsing Republicans who are facing some kind of uphill climb. He backed McMaster and Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.), who was forced into a July primary runoff against former Rep. Bobby Bright. Trump (correctly) called Bright "a recent Nancy Pelosi voting Democrat." But despite his Democratic roots, Bright has been able to give Roby a run for her money in part because she distanced herself from Trump during the 2016 elections after the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape. Still, the president on Friday called Roby "a consistent and reliable vote for our Make America Great Again Agenda." Trump also sent more encouragement to Rep. Ron
DeSantis (R-Fla.), who has trailed Adam Putnam in recent GOP gubernatorial primary polls.

On Saturday, Trump tweeted his support for Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.), who will be in a tough battle against Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb for the newly redrawn 17th District (Vice President Mike Pence was in Pennsylvania on Saturday to boost Rothfus, rallying in front of about 100 people, according to WESA). On Sunday, he endorsed Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), who he met with on Wednesday according to POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt.

- The president was also in Las Vegas on Saturday to rally the base for Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) at the state party's convention. He called Heller's opponent, Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen, "wacky Jacky" and said that while Heller was "a little bit shaky" before Trump was elected president, "once we got in there he's been rock solid and he's been great," The Nevada Independent's Riley Snyder and Michelle Rindels reported.

THE EMPIRE STATE - A group of relative political neophytes is duking it out in Democratic primary in New York for a chance to face Rep. John Faso in November. Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider has a preview: "[T]op candidates have emerged, based on internal polling and interviews with local operatives. In addition to [Antonio] Delgado, who has led the entire field in fundraising and spending, there is Pat Ryan, a tech entrepreneur and combat veteran, and businessman Brian Flynn. Gareth Rhodes, a former staffer to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, gained last-minute steam with an endorsement from The New York Times last week."

BABY NOW WE GOT BAD BLOOD - In the Maryland Democratic gubernatorial race, Ben Jealous and Valerie Ervin have problems, and I don't think they can solve them. The Baltimore Sun's Erin Cox: "As Ervin sharpens her accusations against Jealous - accusing him of 'bullying' - Jealous' camp has hit back, saying she relies on 'lies.' The Jealous team on Friday began openly attacking Baker over pay raises in Prince George's County school system, escalating what began as a tranquil primary and is shaping up an ugly end on June 26."

- This race is also a referendum of sorts for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his movement. While Democratic politics has moved to the left, The New York Times' Sydney Ember and Alexander Burns report that Sanders "has struggled so far to expand his political base and propel his personal allies to victory in Democratic primaries."

ON THE AIRWAVES - The Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP leadership-tied super PAC, is up with two ads in the special election in Ohio's 12 District, part of a $1 million buy. The first ad touts Balderson's education chops, while the second ad called Democratic rival O'Connor "dishonest."

2020 WATCH - Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) acknowledged that he was at least considering a 2020 run for president. In an interview with The New York Times' Sheryl Gay Stolberg for a profile on his activism at the border, he told her that he was "exploring the possibility" of running in 2020. Interestingly, he also said he wouldn't necessarily clear the field if either Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) or Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) decided to run.

ROUDA AHEAD WITH NO BALLOTS LEFT - Democrat Harley Rouda likely secured the second spot on the November ballot in California's 48th District. He was ahead by 126 votes over fellow Democrat Hans Keirstead when the Orange County Registrar of Voters said Saturday there were no more ballots left to count. He would face incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.). Rouda tweeted Sunday night that he had a phone call with Keirstead, who pledged his "full support" to flip the district.

RALLYING CRY - The rebellious libertarian movement had "abolish the IRS." Now a growing number of rebel progressives want to "abolish ICE," including New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon and several Democratic congressional candidates. NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald looks at the new slogan on the left: "Overall, 15 Democratic congressional candidates are currently running on de-funding or abolishing ICE, according to Sean McElwee, a New York-based activist who has helped lead the charge."

2016 FOREVER - Former Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein continues to pay campaign staff, according to a recent FEC filing. She's still paying a director of compliance, campaign manager and communications director (h/t ProPublica's Derek Willis.).

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If you get me one more glass of wine, I'll tell you stuff only Bob Mueller and I know," Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) joking at the DSCC retreat, via POLITICO Playbook.

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