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By Kevin Robillard | 07/20/2017 10:10 AM EDT


With 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)

ENTER THE CORDRAY - "Ohio judge: Richard Cordray plans to run for Ohio governor," by POLITICO's Daniel Strauss and Lorraine Woellert: "Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill said a mutual friend called Cordray last week to ask if the bureau chief was considering a run for governor. O'Neill himself had considered running in the past but told the friend - whom he refused to name - that he wouldn't if Cordray did. It was clear from the conversation that Cordray will launch a campaign, O'Neill said. 'He's getting ready to run,' O'Neill told POLITICO. ... Cordray, who served a term as Ohio attorney general before Obama tapped him to lead the CFPB, is the only person in the field with a national
profile and a statewide win under his belt. 'Rich is in a unique position to be able to raise money nationally when he comes into the race, and that piece is going to come together faster than it would [for] other candidates,' said Greg Haas, former chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party in Ohio." Full story.

- ELSEWHERE IN OHIO - FIRST IN SCORE - Ohio First Fund, a 501(c)(4) "dedicated to promoting the policies" of Rep. Jim Renacci, a Republican candidate for governor, has raised $235,000. "We plan to support advancing those policies," Chip Englander, an adviser for the group, tells Score.

SITTING OUT - "Criticize Trump at your peril, Republican candidates. Just ask Kim Guadagno," by NJ Advance Media's Matt Arco and Claude Brodesser-Akner: "The Republican National Committee, which is controlled by President Donald Trump, views the lieutenant governor as someone who hasn't been loyal to the president and officials there see her race as a losing cause, according to two sources familiar with the RNC's plans. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The Republican Governors Association, a nationwide group formed with the sole purpose of electing GOP governors, has invested minimally in New Jersey and currently has no plans to change
course, sources say. The other hit for Guadagno comes right here in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie's top fundraisers privately say they are sitting out the race because, in part, she's been deemed disloyal to the governor after criticizing him on several issues, including his stay at the governor's beach house during the state shutdown." Full story.

- Here's the problem with this assertion regarding the RNC: Know who else criticized Trump after the Access Hollywood tape? Virginia GOP gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie, and the Republican National Committee is working to help his campaign. The Access Hollywood criticism sounds like a convenient excuse to dump a candidate who trails by 20 points or more in public polling.

- Here's a mini-trend to watch: In the past week, stories citing RNC sources have appeared in local papers questioning Gillespie's campaign strategy (see this Washington Post article) and questioning Guadagno for distancing herself from Trump. A cynical reader might suggest someone at the RNC is trying to make sure Trump isn't blamed if the party loses two gubernatorial seats this fall.

HEALTH CARE HAVOC - "Medicaid shows its political clout," by POLITICO's Rachana Pradhan: "Medicaid may be the next 'third rail' in American politics. Resistance to cutting the health care program for the poor has emerged as a big stumbling block to Obamacare repeal, and Republicans touch it at their political peril. ... Republican strategists and pollsters say Medicaid's rising stock will likely diminish the GOP's chances to cap federal funds without huge blowback from voters ... It began as a program for poor kids and their parents, but it's grown - and grown. It now covers more than 70 million people, or more than 1 in 5 Americans. Roughly 30 million of those covered by Medicaid are
children and 7 million are elderly, many in nursing homes. Medicaid covers millions of disabled people and is a big source of treatment for opioid addiction. The opioid funding added to the concern of the GOP governors who objected to the Medicaid cuts, and it 'clearly had impact,' noted Republican pollster Bill McInturff, a partner at Public Opinion Strategies." Full story.

- American Bridge attacks Heller in digital ad: American Bridge released a 6-second pre-roll YouTube advertisement featuring Nevada GOP Sen. Dean Heller, an Obamacare repeal holdout, laughing with President Donald Trump during a White House meeting. "Trump. Heller. Taking away your healthcare," the ad's text reads. Watch the ad here.

FUNDRAISING - NRCC raised $7.5 million in June: The NRCC brought in $7.5 million last month, its best off-year June total since 2005. The committee has $33.7 million in cash on hand. House Speaker Paul Ryan transferred $2 million to the NRCC last month. "Fundraising is the ultimate team effort, and the NRCC and House Leadership is firing on all cylinders," NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers said in a statement.

- "RNC raises $13.4M in record-setting June haul," by The Hill's Lisa Hagen: The haul gave the RNC $44.7 million cash on hand at the end of June. Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 110.

Days until the 2018 election: 474.

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.

MISSIVES FROM THE MITTEN - "Is Michigan Ready for a Governor Named Abdul?," by Daniel Strauss in POLITICO Magazine: " Abdul El-Sayed is full of nervous energy, fueled partly by lack of sleep because he was up late observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and partly because for the past couple of hours he's been welded to a phone doing tedious but essential fundraising calls. But the thing that has him really keyed up is the big goal for the afternoon and the reason that he is standing in front of two campaign aides in a room decorated with nothing more than a couple of "Abdul for Michigan" posters: He needs to learn how to get his message across to large crowds, specifically large
crowds of people who he knows are more likely to vote for Donald Trump than a progressive Democrat, and a Muslim one at that." Full story.

CHRISTIE'S LAST STAND? - "Christie's last big move could be filling Menendez's seat," by POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman: "Gov. Chris Christie is the most unpopular governor in the country, but in his last days in office he may get to exercise enormous influence nationally: Choosing a successor to embattled U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez ... Menendez, a Democrat and New Jersey's senior senator, goes on trial for corruption in September, and there are two scenarios that could see him leave Washington before Christie is term-limited out of office in January: If Menendez is convicted and the Senate acts quickly to expel him; or if he cuts a plea deal and leaves office even earlier. ... A top
contender for the spot would be Assembly minority leader Jon Bramnick - a moderate Republican who has been unfailingly loyal to Christie ... But it could be any number of people who inhabit the governor's inner circle. Several Democrats and political observers didn't even discount the possibility that Christie could put himself in the seat." Full story.

DIVERSITY DATA - "New Report: About A Third Of Democratic State Party Staffers Are Minorities," by BuzzFeed's Darren Sands: "Inclusv, the group founded in 2015 to promote racial diversity and inclusion in national politics says that 32% of all staffers employed by 40 state parties (and the D.C. Democratic Party) are people of color. According to Inclusv's data, white staffers make up nearly three-fourths of all staff in state parties. Latinos made up just 8% of staff inside state parties, while black Americans made up 14.5%. Almost 40% of the staffers of color came from either Florida, California, Ohio, North Carolina, or Virginia." Full story.

DAILY ROLLTIDE - Mo Brooks and the filibuster: Rep. Mo Brooks, a candidate in the special election for U.S. Senate, seems to be offering conflicting promises on the filibuster. In a fundraising pitch from his Senate campaign with the subject line "End the Filibuster" Brooks argues that "The filibuster rule is not in the Constitution. In fact, it's not even a law. The only purpose it serves right now is obstructing the President's every legislative goal." But in a campaign ad earlier this month Brooks said "elect me to the Senate and I'll fight every spending bill that doesn't fund that wall. And if I have to filibuster on the Senate floor, I'll even read the King James bible until the wall
is funded."

- MORE ALABAMA - The Senate Leadership Fund is having some fun today and set up a new website titled "Mo Brooks Mo Lies" against Brooks.

2018 WATCH - "Nevada treasurer 'virtually certain' he'll run for governor," by the Reno Gazette-Journal's Ray Hagar: "Nevada State Treasurer Dan Schwartz said Wednesday it is 'virtually certain' he will run for governor as a Republican in 2018. ... 'I am virtually certain I will do it,' Schwartz said about running for governor. 'I will probably announce sometime in September and have an exploratory committee in mid-August.' ... Schwartz said he was not concerned about [billionaire GOP donor Sheldon] Adelson's financial support of [Attorney General Adam] Laxalt: 'Sheldon is a good man. I'm not disparaging him. But this world is full of billionaires and full of millionaires. He's not the only
guy in town.' ... Adelson 'has bought' Laxalt, Schwartz suggested." Full story.

- MI-07: Democrat Gretchen Driskell, a former state lawmaker and mayor, announced she's again challenging Rep. Tim Walberg. Walberg defeated her by more than 15 points in 2016, via The Detroit News.

- AZ-08: Another Democrat with an interesting background jumping into a longshot district: physician and cancer research advocate Hiral Tipirneni, who launched a campaign for GOP Rep. Trent Franks' long-safe seat.

VOTING WATCH - "Trump stokes voter fraud fears as commission convenes," by POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum: "President Donald Trump put the power of the presidency behind one of his favorite theories on Wednesday, convening a panel to investigate voter fraud even though experts have largely dismissed his evidence-free claim that 'millions' of illegal votes last year cost him the popular vote." Full story.

- "Raimondo OKs automatic voter registration in Rhode Island," by the Associated Press: "Gov. Gina Raimondo has signed a bill that allows qualified voters to automatically register. ... The bill passed last month in the House and Senate and had bipartisan support. Rhode Island becomes the ninth state to put in place automatic voter registration." Full story.

STAFFING UP - Mike Gibbons for Senate hires BrabenderCox. per a release from the Gibbons campaign, which is running for the GOP nomination in Ohio against state Treasurer Josh Mandel.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn't Have Hired Sessions," by the New York Times' Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman: "In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions's decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have happened. ... the president also accused James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired in May, of trying to leverage a dossier of compromising material to keep his job. Mr. Trump criticized both the acting F.B.I. director who has been filling in since Mr. Comey's dismissal and the deputy attorney general who recommended it. And
he took on Robert S. Mueller III ... Mr. Trump said Mr. Mueller was running an office rife with conflicts of interest and warned investigators against delving into matters too far afield from Russia. ... Asked if Mr. Mueller's investigation would cross a red line if it expanded to look at his family's finances beyond any relationship to Russia, Mr. Trump said, 'I would say yes.'" Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He wants to remain a senator, doesn't he?" - President Donald Trump, referring to Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) at a White House meeting on healthcare.

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