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By Maggie Severns | 05/09/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With 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)

SHOCK LOSS - Pittenger loses NC-09 GOP primary to Harris, via Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: Full story.

SENATE SELECTIONS - Morrisey wins GOP nod to take on Manchin, Blankenship suffers beatdown, via POLITICO's Steven Shepard and Alex Isenstadt: "State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the West Virginia GOP Senate primary on Tuesday, avoiding a nightmare scenario for Republicans, who feared that former coal magnate Don Blankenship would capture the party's nomination in a race that could determine which party controls the Senate next year. ... When Blankenship seemed to be surging in the final days of the race, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party implored voters not to back him, saying it would guarantee a loss to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in the general election." Full
story.

- "Braun wins Indiana GOP Senate primary," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "Businessman Mike Braun won Indiana's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, setting up a general election contest with Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in one of the GOP's key 2018 Senate targets. Braun outran two Republican congressmen, Luke Messer and Todd Rokita, to secure the nomination. ... While all three Republicans ran as conservative supporters of President Donald Trump, Braun seized the outsider mantle most fully in the primary. The onetime state legislator emphasized his business career and conservative views while deriding Messer and Rokita as "the swamp brothers" in ads attacking their congressional
records, especially on trade. ... Braun made a fortune in the auto-parts distribution business; he has assets totaling at least $36.8 million and could be worth as much as $95.7 million, according to his Senate financial disclosures." Full story.

- Democrats' next line of attack: American Bridge released a 30 second digital ad composed of clips of Messer and Rokita attacking Braun during the primary. Watch the ad here.

- "Renacci wins Ohio GOP Senate primary," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland and Daniel Strauss: "Rep. Jim Renacci won the Republican Senate primary in Ohio Tuesday night, advancing to the general election against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Renacci, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, won the GOP nomination over businessman Mike Gibbons. ... Renacci, a four-term congressman whose district includes suburbs of Cleveland and Akron, began the year as a candidate for governor of Ohio. But state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who lost to Brown in 2012 and had been angling for a rematch since, suddenly dropped out of the race in January, citing his wife's health. Renacci then abandoned his
gubernatorial campaign and switched to the Senate race." Full story.

GOVSTERS - "Cordray, DeWine advance to Ohio gubernatorial election," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Democrat Richard Cordray won the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio Tuesday night, setting up a November race against Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine. Cordray, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, bested former Rep. Dennis Kucinich and several other contenders in the Democratic primary." Full story.

OTHER TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NIGHT:

- Balderson, O'Connor to face off in OH-12 special, via Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "State Sen. Troy Balderson won the Republican primaries in the special and regular elections in former Rep. Pat Tiberi's old district. Balderson had 29.2 percent of the vote to 28.2 percent for Melanie Leneghan when the Associated Press called the race with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Balderson won the regular primary by a similar margin over Leneghan. Balderson's slim victory follows a contentious Republican proxy battle over the seat, which pit former House colleagues against each other in the latest in a series of mainstream-versus-outsider Republican primary battles. ... Balderson will now
face Democrat Danny O'Connor, the Franklin County Recorder, in an August matchup for a district Trump carried by 12 points in 2016. ... Daily Kos, the liberal blog that also endorses and raises money for Democratic candidates, is 'looking closely at that race, and we'll make a final determination after the primary,' said Carolyn Fiddler, a spokeswoman for the organization." Full story.

- "VP Pence's brother wins IN-06 primary," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "Businessman Greg Pence, the brother of Vice President Mike Pence, has won the Republican primary for Senate candidate Luke Messer's congressional seat. Pence had 67 percent of the vote to 22 percent for Jonathan Lamb when the Associated Press called the five-way primary with 23 percent of precincts reporting. Indiana's 6th District is heavily Republican, giving Pence one foot in Congress." Full story.

- Top takeaways from the first big primary night of the year, via POLITICO's Steven Shepard, Elena Schneider and Scott Bland: "Republicans can exhale now. Convicted coal magnate Don Blankenship's surprise third-place finish in Tuesday's West Virginia GOP Senate primary sidestepped yet another debacle for the party after consecutive meltdowns in special elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania. ... But Morrisey enters the race with his own baggage - even if it's nothing like Blankenship's. Morrisey used to be a Washington lobbyist, and Morrisey's wife still is one. Also, Morrisey ran for Congress in 2000 - in New Jersey. ... It was a bad night for House members running statewide: Jenkins lost
to Morrisey by more than 5 points. Rokita and Messer finished even further behind Braun. ... Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.) became the first incumbent member of Congress knocked out in a primary in 2018. ... his defeat could serve as a wake-up call to incumbents who have struggled to unite Republicans at the ballot box in the past, like Reps. Martha Roby (Ala.) and Doug Lamborn (Colo.). ... Women are running for federal office in record numbers in 2018 - and it looks like Democratic primary voters are poised to support those candidates like never before. There were 20 open Democratic House primaries with women on the ballot Tuesday night, and voters selected a female nominee in 17 of them.
Full story.

- See all the results here: Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

Days until the 2018 election: 181

Upcoming election dates - Idaho, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Oregon primaries: May 15 - Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky primaries, plus Texas primary runoffs: May 22 - Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries: June 5 - Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia primaries: June 12.

Upcoming filing deadlines - Washington: May 18 - Arizona: May 30 - Vermont: May 31 - Alaska, Kansas, Wisconsin and Wyoming: June 1 - Hawaii and Minnesota: June 5 - Connecticut: June 12.

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

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

GETTING THE NOD - FIRST IN SCORE - EMILY's List endorses in crowded NY-19 primary: EMILY's List announced on Wednesday that the group is endorsing Erin Collier in the crowded Democratic primary to take on New York Rep. John Faso. Collier, who's running against a half-dozen male candidates, released an announcement video earlier this year, promising to not "let those boys beat me." Watch the video here.

- Winning For Women endorses two new candidates: The conservative political nonprofit Winning For Women is endorsing two new candidates: Young Kim (CA-39) and Ashley Nickloes (TN-02). "We've been carefully monitoring contests across the country and these women leaders have stood out for their track records of excellence and service," said Rebecca Schuller, Winning For Women's Executive Director said in a statement.

- Giffords endorses 9 House candidates: Giffords, the anti-gun violence group, rolled out endorsements in 11 House races. The list includes: TJ Cox (CA-21), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Brad Ashford (NE-02), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Aftab Pureval (OH-01), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and Elaine Luria (VA-02).

SHAKE IT OFF - "Pelosi's message to Democrats who criticize her while campaigning: 'Just win, baby'", by POLITICO's Louis Nelson: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she is unbothered by Democrats campaigning in swing districts by pledging not to support her for speaker. Her message to such candidates, channeling iconic former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis: 'Just win, baby.' Pelosi, in an interview with POLITICO Playbook authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, was bullish on the chances for her party to take over the majority in the House when voters go to the polls for this November's midterm elections. She said she was undeterred by the seemingly growing trend of Democratic
candidates who have either pledged not to support her for the party's leadership or who have been conspicuously noncommittal about their support for her." Full story.

- CLF pops national ad on Pelosi's comments: The Congressional Leadership Fund is out with a six-figure national TV ad buy, saying that "this week, Pelosi promised to raise our taxes again." Watch the ad here.

GETTING IN - "Party leader: Kathleen Rice has expressed interest in AG bid," by POLITICO New York's Jimmy Vielkind: "Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) has expressed interest in running for attorney general this year in the wake of Eric Schneiderman's resignation, a party official told POLITICO. Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said that he has spoken with Rice and 'she definitely has an interest in it and is taking a good look at it.'" Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - POLLING DATA - Stefanowski releases internal poll on Connecticut governor's race: Republican Bob Stefanowski released an internal polling memo that shows the former financial executive leads the Republican primary field with 33 percent of the vote, followed by New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart with 11 percent. Another 30 percent of voters are still undecided. Check out the polling memo here.

- CA-48 poll shows risk of Democratic lockout: "314 Action, a Democratic group working to elect candidates with science backgrounds, released a poll in California's 48th District showing a Republican candidate in close contention with two Democrats for a slot in the general election against GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. The poll, conducted by Change Research, found Rohrabacher leading the field with 27 percent support, followed by Democrat Hans Keirstead with 19 percent and Republican Scott Baugh with 17 percent. Democrat Harley Rouda receives 11 percent." Full story.

- CA-49 poll also shows risk of Democratic lockout: An internal poll released by Democrat Sara Jacobs' campaign found that two Republican candidates are leading the open primary field, Diane Harkey and Rocky Chavez. The poll also found that Democrat Doug Applegate fell by 8 points since the campaign's February poll, while Jacobs added 5 points to her total. Check out the polling memo here.

UP ON AIR - CHC BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, is airing a new positive ad focused on Xochitl Torres Small in NM-02. The ad will run between May 8 and May 22 on cable and broadcast television and is supported by a $150,000 buy. The ad focuses on Torres Small's work in New Mexico for Sen. Tom Udall. Watch the ad here.

- 314 Action cuts ad buy ahead of California House primaries," by POLITICO's Elena Schneider: "314 Action, a Democratic group working to elect candidates with science backgrounds, is pulling back $219,000 of its $1 million in reserved airtime in Los Angeles, according to Advertising Analytics. 'We're still looking at all of the races in this area, where we originally reserved time air time,' a spokesman for the group wrote in an email. 'We're doing mail for some candidates instead of TV.'" Full story.

A HARD PLACE - "McCain's absence handcuffs Republicans," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett: "Party officials are keeping one eye on an upcoming deadline that would allow Republicans to avoid a special election until 2020 if McCain leaves office after this month. But Republicans do not expect McCain to vacate his seat early as he battles brain cancer, senators said privately, and they are applying no pressure on him to make a retirement decision. ... Republicans say they refuse to discuss the future of McCain's Senate seat, which he was reelected to in 2016 even as President Donald Trump criticized him and he faced a primary opponent that repeatedly suggested McCain could not make it through a
six-year term. ...

"Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas said it would be 'foolish' to try and persuade McCain to retire early as he battles the debilitating disease. 'That's just something we're not talking about out of respect for Sen. McCain,' said one Senate Republican. A second Senate Republican said most senators hoped that if the seat becomes vacant, Cindy McCain will be chosen to succeed John McCain. Several Republican senators have been speaking to her during the senator's time recovering in Arizona." Full story.

DEPARTURE LOUNGE - "Trump campaign veteran leaving White House communications office," by POLITICO's Annie Karni, Nancy Cook and Matthew Nussbaum: "Another desk is being vacated in the ever-churning White House communications department. Cliff Sims, a special assistant to the president who oversees White House message strategy, is expected to take a position at the State Department as a senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the coming weeks. 'Cliff worked on communications for Pompeo's confirmation and did an outstanding job, which led to Secretary Pompeo offering him that position,' said a person close to Pompeo." Full story.

NEW HIRE - New Hampshire gubernatorial candidate Molly Kelly hired Chris Moyer as communications director and Naomi Miller as finance manager.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "This is a case of judo, where you're using someone else's momentum against them. It's not like we're attacking. We're just sort of like steering his weight and letting him take himself down," Seth Meyers told POLITICO's Off Message podcast, on comedians targeting the president.

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