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By Zach Montellaro | 06/21/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Elena Schneider and Maggie Severns

MIKE BLOOMBERG SHOOK UP THE BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE by announcing that he'll spend $80 million in 2018, with the bulk of that going to electing Democrats who share his worldview to flip control of the House.

Bloomberg sharply criticized the GOP in a statement, saying "Republicans in Congress have had almost two years to prove they could govern responsibly. They failed. As we approach the 2018 midterms, it's critical that we elect people who will lead in ways that this Congress won't." He played up his past bipartisan donations, and also said he plans to support gubernatorial candidates in both parties "who have shown strong leadership on gun safety, the environment, education and other critical issues".

Bloomberg has his own network of outside groups - but he will be playing along with the rest of Democrats' party infrastructure, according to The New York Times' Alex Burns (who broke the news). Burns reported that Bloomberg's team has been in "frequent contact" with EMILY's List (which he "is likely to collaborate with in the 2018 campaign") and Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), and that Moulton's bloc of veteran candidates interests him. Howard Wolfson, an adviser to Bloomberg and a former executive director of the DCCC, will spearhead Bloomberg's operation. The former mayor gave millions to mainstream Democratic group like House Majority PAC and Women Vote! during
the 2014 cycle.

There are only a handful of eight-figure megadonors we know of so far in 2018 - some playing nice with their parties and some striking out on their own. Sheldon Adelson's $30 million check to Congressional Leadership Fund, House Republicans' practically official super PAC, fits in the former category. But then there's billionaire hedge funder Tom Steyer, who is doing his own thing with his money on the Democratic side, including a crusade to impeach President Donald Trump that irritates Democratic leadership. On the GOP side, this iconoclastic donor type includes Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who have given over $26 million this cycle, much of it to groups that routinely kick sand in the
eyes of Republican leaders, like the Club for Growth, or to candidates who do the same, like Mississippi's Chris McDaniel.

The last class are multimillion- (and billion)aires who strike out on their own, hoping to use their massive fortunes to elect themselves to higher office. This includes Democrat David Trone, who has put more than $10 million in his bid to win the primary in Maryland's 6th District next Tuesday, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who has committed his fortune to unseating Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.). And in Illinois, the gubernatorial race is shaping up to be the most expensive ever, as Gov. Bruce Rauner and his Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker have spent well over $100 million of their own cash between them.

CASH RACE - DCCC tops NRCC in May fundraising: The DCCC raised $11.3 million last month, more than double the amount the NRCC raised, which totaled $5.1 million last month, according to a committee aide. The NRCC has $60.9 million in cash on hand, barely topping the DCCC's $60.6 million in cash on hand.

MAINE EVENTS - Maine's secretary of state office finished tabulating ranked choice votes in two contested Democratic primaries Wednesday night. Attorney General Janet Mills took the nomination for governor, while Jared Golden will be the Democratic nominee against GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin in ME-02.

Good Thursday morning and welcome to Morning Score. For those of you who live in The District, here's an interesting graphic from CityLab breaking down how D.C. voted on Initiative 77 by precinct. You can reach me at zmontellaro@politico.com and follow me on Twitter at @ZachMontellaro. Today I had help from Elena Schneider (eschneider@politico.com/ @ec_schneider) and Maggie Severns (mseverns@politico.com/ @MaggieSeverns).

You can email the rest of the great Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com,, dstrauss@politico.com and jarkin@politico.com. Follow us on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @DanielStrauss4 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. Part of the POLITICO-AARP Deciders series, this event will feature exclusive interviews with 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 Friday, June 29 at InterContinental Miami. Doors will open at 8 a.m. RSVP here.

Days until the 2018 election: 138.

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

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

TRUMP TAKES MINNESOTA - The president hosted a raucous rally in Minnesota, where he brought Pete Stauber, the Republican candidate in Minnesota's 8th District, on stage to endorse him, calling him a "great guy." He touched on immigration and focused on favored targets like the media, POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum and Stephanie Murray report.

- This rally is the kickoff of about a week of traveling for Trump. He'll be in Las Vegas on Saturday, South Carolina on Monday and North Dakota on Wednesday. CNN's Dan Merica reports that he'll be in Wisconsin next Thursday "for a 250-person fundraiser with the Trump Victory Committee and the Republican National Committee in Milwaukee. One Republican told CNN that the RNC expects to raise $3 million at the event. RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will be in attendance, according to the Republican source."

FEC FILING DEADLINE - Here's how top spenders raised in May: Senate Majority PAC brought in $3.9 million and ended the month with $29 million cash on hand ... House Majority PAC raised $4 million and ended the month with $16.7 million cash on hand ... Senate Leadership Fund raised $643,000 and finished the month with $13 million cash on hand ... The DNC raised $5.6 million and finished the month with $8.7 million cash on hand. The committee reported having $4 million in debt.

- Digging deeper: Donors cut huge checks to Democratic super PACs last month. Hedge fund manager and philanthropist James H. Simons donated $1.6 million to House Majority PAC in May ... Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin donated $500,000 each to Senate Majority PAC. Other big-name contributors to SMP in May: businessman Eli Broad ($150,000), Matthew Pritzker ($250,000) and agent Ari Emanuel ($100,000). Meg Whitman, the former eBay and HP CEO who was the Republican nominee for governor of California in 2010, gave House Majority PAC $25,000.

- Forward Majority Action, which was started by Obama administration alumni to flip state legislatures, had by far its best month to date thanks to entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, who gave the group $1 million on May 3. Forward Majority Action raised $2.5 million in May overall and ended the month with $2.8 million cash on hand.

- Misc. dept: Make America Number 1, a super PAC bankrolled by Robert Mercer during the 2016 elections, remains mostly dormant - but it did report paying out $28,080 in legal fees in May. (H/t: @levinecarrie)

NEW WEST VIRGINIA POLL - A new poll from Monmouth University brought good news to Democrats on two fronts. In the Senate race, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) holds a lead over state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, 49 percent to 42 percent - which expands slightly if you include Don Blankenship, who is angling to run on a third party ticket - among all potential voters. Other likely voter models showed similar results.

- The same poll also has surprising results in West Virginia's 3rd District. Democrat Richard Ojeda has a small lead over Republican Carol Miller in the all potential voters model, 43 percent to 41 percent. A "historical midterm" model gives him a larger lead of 47 percent to 41 percent, while a "Democratic surge" model gives him a 48 percent to 39 percent lead.

- FIRST IN SCORE: CHC BOLD PAC is endorsing Ojeda. "From his military service to his deep understanding of the communities of West Virginia, Richard has shown time and again that he will fight tirelessly to expand economic opportunity for America's hardworking families, and make sure their voices are heard in halls of Congress," CHC BOLD PAC political director Andres Orellana said in a statement to Score.

** Presented by AARP: There's only one true deciding factor in this year's elections: 50-plus voters. They won't be ignored and their votes are up for grabs. Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers, and prescription drug costs are all on the line-so you can be sure they'll be voting in record numbers.
aarp.org/vote **

AND A WISCONSIN POLL - Marquette University Law School released a new poll that found that much of the Democratic gubernatorial primary field is unknown to voters. Democrat Tony Evers leads the field with 25 percent in the primary, and no other candidate has double digits. Gov. Scott Walker leads all potential November matchups. The poll also found Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) leading her potential challengers. More from Campaign Pro's James Arkin.

CONVENTION PLANNING - Democrats are close to choosing their next convention site. POLITICO Playbook reported that Houston, Miami Beach, Milwaukee and Denver are the shortlist to host the 2020 convention, but The Denver Post's Mark Matthews reported that Denver plans on pulling its bid because the dates the party has announced (July 13-16) won't work with the city.

HERE'S TERRY! - Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe will hit the road to promote Democratic governors - and feed 2020 speculation. Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss report: "The former Virginia governor has already held fundraisers for candidates in swing states like Michigan and Ohio. He's in talks about trips to Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada - key early states in the presidential nominating process. ... McAuliffe insists the activity has nothing to do with a potential run for president in 2020, saying that the midterms are his priority and that fellow Democrats have paid too little attention to state politics for too long."

A FAMILY AFFAIR - Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has paid his granddaughter Kelsey Kirby more than $16,000 for campaign work, the third person running for Senate this year to pay relatives for campaign work. HuffPost's Kevin Robillard: "Manchin's campaign said she's been working as a field organizer, focusing on organizing college students \u2015 a major challenge and important task for any Democrat running for re-election in a midterm year, when youth turnout tends to be lower. ... He's not even the only person running for Senate this year to do so. Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller paid his son more than $50,000 for social media and video work, and GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer once paid his wife to work
as his campaign manager."

RUDY WATCH - The president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani sent shockwaves throughout Louisiana's 3rd District when he endorsed an obscure candidate. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt with a must-read story: "In a move that blindsided the West Wing and sent Hill Republicans into a tizzy, the president's personal attorney is throwing his support behind an obscure House candidate in Louisiana trying to take out incumbent GOP Rep. Clay Higgins. But the bizarre tale of Giuliani's interest in an off-the-radar congressional race only begins there. It turns out the ex-New York mayor's new girlfriend, GOP fundraiser Jennifer LeBlanc, is working for the Republican challenger in the race, Josh Guillory.
LeBlanc had been on Higgins' payroll until late last year when she abruptly parted ways with the congressman."

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - President Trump backed off his family separation policy when he signed an executive order Wednesday. But families aren't being reunited immediately, NYT's Michael Shear, Abby Goodnough and Maggie Haberman report: "[E]nding the practice of separating families still faces legal and practical obstacles. A federal judge could refuse to give the Trump administration the authority it wants to hold families in custody for more than 20 days, which is the current limit because of a 1997 court order.

"And the president's order does nothing to address the plight of the more than 2,300 children who have already been separated from their parents under the president's "zero tolerance" policy."

BUSH VS. TRUMP, CONTINUED - Colorado gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton, a cousin of both former Bush presidents, has been attacked for his relationship to his family in a very pro-Trump race. NBC's Alex Seitz-Wald: "Former state legislator Victor Mitchell, who polls place in second behind Stapleton, has hammered the Bush connection on the campaign trail and in TV, radio and digital ads. 'Walker Stapleton claims he's a Trump guy. But Stapleton's a Bush cousin, taking big bucks from the Trump-hating Bush family network,' says the narrator of one Mitchell radio ad."

FITZPATRICK'S GOOD DAY - Ads, endorsements for Fitzpatrick in PA-08: The Republican Jewish Coalition announced that its first independent expenditure in 2018 will boost Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick with a $530,000 ad campaign. The ads will air from June 21 to June 31 on broadcast and cable stations, along with digital ads. The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO also announced that it would endorse Fitzpatrick's reelection.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's always been a folksier, back-slapping good old boy kinda thing. ... And I don't mean that in a sexist way - I just mean it in a country way," Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) on how Southern politics is performed in a FiveThirtyEight profile.

** Presented by AARP: Americans 50 and over are the nation's most powerful voting bloc. In fact, more than 60 million of them voted in 2016-and this year, they're more motivated than ever to making sure that their voices are heard in Washington.
They're frustrated with broken government. And they're fed up with politicians who'd rather get into fights than get results. The issues they care about most including Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers and prescription drug costs, are all on the line. America's 50-plus voters have put the candidates on notice. Anyone who ignores them will feel it on Election Day. aarp.org/vote **

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