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By Theodoric Meyer | 11/17/2015 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard 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)

- "Vitter defends self on prostitution scandal in final debate," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard in Baton Rouge, La.: "Vitter discussed his 2007 prostitution scandal with new openness during a rowdy and contentious final debate of the Louisiana governor's race, while also facing - and dodging - the most specific question he's been publicly asked about his admitted misdeeds." John Bel Edwards, Vitter's Democratic opponent, has claimed in a TV ad that Vitter was on the phone with an escort service "instead of voting on a Senate resolution to honor troops who had perished in combat." Asked about the call during the debate, "Vitter didn't answer the question, instead choosing to emphasize
that the phone call took place 15 years ago and that he worked hard to earn forgiveness both from his family and from constituents in Louisiana." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a1828bf53d0ea8648d91829225642ca835d678fe11af8beb8ef7

FIRST IN SCORE - New Gumbo PAC ad attacks Vitter on P.I. scandal: Gumbo PAC, the super PAC partially funded by the Democratic Governors Association attacking GOP Sen. David Vitter in the Louisiana governor's race, is out with a new ad this morning. The spot goes after Vitter for allegedly paying a private investigator to spy on the Jefferson Parish sheriff. After reiterating the details of Vitter's 2007 prostitution scandal, a female narrator says: "Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Vitter's been caught paying a private investigator to spy on a sheriff. Vitter paid the firm over $150,000. And now the case has been turned over to the FBI. David Vitter. We just can't trust him
as governor."

- Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a18299f328239abc1a3e5d5403e43999c2bb3fdb96b93f8ac6bb

HAIL MARY - "Vitter pounces on foreign policy to save Louisiana governor's race," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard in Baton Rouge, La.: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a1828e935a021c68d4d9e3926dc5b1ec9f7418023852dec8bc9c

Days until the Louisiana runoff: 4. Days until the 2016 election: 357.

Thanks for joining us. 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 about ethical quandaries: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @kyledcheney.

** 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! **

PROGRAMMING NOTE - Scott Bland takes the helm: We're happy to announce that this is the first edition of Morning Score edited by Scott Bland, Campaign Pro's new editor. Scott comes to POLITICO from National Journal, where he edited the Hotline. He's from Ithaca, N.Y., went to Stanford and is a big enough Stanford football fan to follow the team on Twitter. Steve Shepard, who's helmed Campaign Pro since its launch last year, has been promoted to editor of the Caucus - more on that in a moment - and will also cover polling for POLITICO this election cycle. Congratulations to both of them.

- An expanded POLITICO Caucus debuts: As 2016 heats up, so has the POLITICO Caucus. POLITICO's exclusive insider survey of more than 200 political operatives, activists and elected officials has expanded from Iowa and New Hampshire to two additional states: South Carolina and Nevada. Check out the weekly survey and the new Caucus home: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a18211e9ae36dba2eed715737f1aea8eafbb7efac9e9e76dd7be

AFTER PARIS - Battleground state senators, candidates call for barring refugees: Several senators in competitive races called for halting plans to bring Syrian refugees to the U.S. on Monday, including GOP Sens. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Richard Burr of North Carolina. It's not just Republicans, though: Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who's running for Senate, also came out against allowing more refugees in, and Democratic candidate and former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto joined GOP Rep. Joe Heck in calling for a review of the refugee vetting process before allowing more into the country. Two GOP
candidates in Florida, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Rep. Ron DeSantis, also called for a halt.

One Republican exception: GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who said he remained open to settling refugees in his state. "To the extent this administration allows Syrian refugees into America, it should be done using a common sense prioritization of those most in need and who pose no threat," Johnson said in a statement. "The first priority should be women and children relatives of Syrian-American citizens who would be financially responsible for their relatives." The Democrats running in Pennsylvania also praised the screening process and said they didn't want to prevent refugees from coming.

- Where governors up for reelection stand on Syrian refugees: At least 19 governors came out against allowing Syrian refugees to settle in their states on Monday, The Associated Press reported, with several others reviewing security procedures or demanding more information from the federal government. Among governor up for reelection next year, GOP Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana ordered state agencies to suspend taking in Syrian refugees for now. GOP Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina asked the Obama administration not to send any more Syrians to the state. GOP Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah has ordered a security review but hasn't threatened to turn away refugees. Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock said
the state "will not allow any terrorist organization to intimidate us into abandoning our values." But Montana will turn away refugees if there are safety concerns. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182e8832d5cf4e2efdd08ac489b9922ea45dcc828d3698c660b

In Missouri, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon said he wouldn't block refugees from coming to the state, but 2016 gubernatorial candidate and Democratic state Attorney General Chris Koster said "Missouri should pause relocations," as did the GOP candidates, KRTS reported: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a18256b599af01c0afda8c57f41f47335f893b1877f990c4177b

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Jeb Bush loses TV ad edge to Marco Rubio," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "Down in the polls, Jeb Bush's last refuge was supposed to be his financial superiority. But just as his campaign enters the critical primary phase, the fallen frontrunner is about to get outgunned on the airwaves by the man his campaign views as its chief rival, Marco Rubio. According to media buyers and a POLITICO review of TV ad purchase data, Bush and his allies are on pace to spend $5 million more than Team Rubio on broadcast, cable and radio ads through the first four voting states - but for that sum, they will put fewer ads on the airwaves. That's because the vast majority of Bush's
ads are paid for by his super PAC - roughly 85 percent for Bush versus only 40 percent for Rubio - and super PACs get far less bang for their buck." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182d805efb3b5ae8ac0b88e43c16fec82b7de690cf9ab9a107c

- "Jeb Bush tells closed-door GOP fundraiser that by next GOP debate, 'Trump will be in decline,'" by The Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe: "Jeb Bush said Monday night that GOP front-runner Donald Trump "will be in decline" the next time they meet for a debate in mid-December.Speaking at a closed-door fundraiser in Dallas, Bush also accused some Republican presidential contenders of being "in the witness protection program" when it comes to immigration reform, because they have backed off their previous positions on the issue. He suggested that revamping American immigration laws might help avoid the kind of terrorist attacks that struck Paris last week."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182d2f380847e1d60e7fa230ab65c649209dc0f49eb046a165c

- "Jeb Bush tries to ace the commander-in-chief test," by POLITICO's Eli Stokols: Jeb Bush's campaign sees his forceful response to the terror attacks in Paris as a way to project the image of a credible commander-in-chief in a field crowded with less-experienced candidates. He'll try to sell that vision on Wednesday in a speech at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C. "His team has been working to reframe a speech initially focused on the need to restore cuts to the Pentagon's budget in the more immediate context of the Paris attacks and how to fight ISIL in the Middle East." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182237c1c72cc5257de94fbcb610f00e13858849e405120a7ac

- "Clinton Foundation raised $178 million in 2014," by POLITICO's Ken Vogel: "The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation last year raised $178 million \u2015 its biggest annual fundraising haul in five years \u2015 as it prepared for a possible future without its two biggest names." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182a97752dda754270dfc922d3fa30041416ca1a94c774324fe

- "Donald Trump questions whether Syrian refugees are 'Trojan horse,'" by The New York Times' Maggie Haberman: "Donald J. Trump questioned whether Syrian refugees are part of a 'Trojan horse' plot, suggested buying land in Syria to create a 'safe space' and said that in 2000 he could 'feel' that terrorists were going to strike in the United States, as he rallied a large crowd of supporters in Tennessee on Monday evening." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182be875c7796da83b7813a29517a4b6782598da74d4a2c81f3

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I should say Dana Carvey." - Jeb Bush, who earned a laugh on Monday evening after a donor
asked him whether he prefered Carvey's impressions of his father on "Saturday Night Live" or Will Ferrell's more cutting impressions of his brother. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e348e48fee13a182d2f380847e1d60e7fa230ab65c649209dc0f49eb046a165c

** 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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