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By Elena Schneider | 03/13/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Scott Bland and Kevin Robillard

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)

MAPMAKER, MAPMAKER, MAKE ME A MAP - Federal district court strikes down Texas congressional map over three districts: A three-judge panel of a federal district court in San Antonio voted 2-1 to declare invalid three districts - GOP-held TX-23 (Rep. Will Hurd) and TX-27 (Rep. Blake Farenthold) and Democratic-held TX-35 (Rep. Lloyd Doggett) - due to racial gerrymandering by the Republican state legislators who drew the map in 2011. (Read the full decision and dissent here.) The current map has already been in place for three election cycles. An appeal of the decision by Texas would go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

- The majority judges wrote that race predominated in the drawing of the districts and that TX-23, the lone battleground district out of 36 in the state, "is in fact not a true Latino opportunity district despite its majority [Hispanic citizen voting age population]," writing that Republican map-drawers kept the Latino population of the district above half, "thus maintaining theoretical opportunity, while simultaneously manipulating the population of the district to decrease its potential effectiveness for Latinos" by, for example, moving out high-turnout Latino voters and replacing them with low-turnout Latino voters.

- The judges did not invalidate districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth or Houston areas despite arguments against the map from the plaintiffs, though they found evidence of racial gerrymandering in GOP Rep. Michael Burgess' TX-26. More reaction and analysis from: the San Antonio Express News (featuring a defiant Hurd vowing to fight for his district no matter the lines), the Austin American-Statesman (focusing on Doggett's district), the Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Farenthold expects an appeal), and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (with a focus on the DFW districts).

HEALTH WATCH - "Democrats turn to Obamacare attacks against GOP in 2018," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Heather Caygle: "The past four election cycles, Democrats have been battered and bruised by political attacks over Obamacare. Now, they say, the time has finally arrived to take the fight to Republicans. ... House Democrats are angling to make the GOP's plans to reverse Obamacare's Medicaid expansion and slash insurance subsidies the defining issue of the 2018 midterms. ... While Schumer and other Senate Democrats have seized on 'Trumpcare,' House Democrats have made a conscious decision to avoid the term, reasoning that Trump's supporters may rally around it, according to a
Democratic official. Instead, Pelosi and her top lieutenants are sticking with the slogan 'make America sick again.' But not everyone is a fan. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) said flatly: 'That shit doesn't work.'" Full story.

- ... especially targeting older voters, via Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: Full story.

- Cotton steps up political critique of the GOP health bill: "I'm afraid that if they vote for this bill, they're going to put the House majority at risk next year," GOP Sen. Tom Cotton said Sunday on ABC's This Week. Full story.

- "Another key Republican senator knocks GOP Obamacare plan," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett: "Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) panned House Speaker Paul Ryan's bill to repeal and replace Obamacare during a closed meeting with constituents on Saturday, according to audio obtained by POLITICO. The remarks by Heller, the most vulnerable GOP senator on the ballot next year, are another sign of the difficult prospects the House bill faces in the other chamber. Already, more than a half-dozen senators have criticized the bill, and Republicans can only afford to lose two votes." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 239.

Days until the 2018 election: 603.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet about campaigns and about making the Big Dance: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

2018 WATCH - Ross to decide on Maryland bid 'in next month': Former State Dept. official Alec Ross said in an interview on Friday he would decide whether he plans to challenge Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan "in the next month." The 45-year-old Ross, who started his career as a Teach for America member in Baltimore before working on innovation policy for the Obama campaign and serving as a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State, would be a fresh face in a potentially crowded Democratic primary. Rep. John Delaney and county executives Rushern Baker and Kevin Kamenetz could also make bids. "I think the fact that I've built my career outside of elected politics is going to
appeal to people," he said.

... AND A 'NO' - "Rep. Kind won't run for Wisconsin governor in 2018," The Associated Press reported: "Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind said Friday he will not run for Wisconsin governor in 2018, ending months of speculation and leaving the field wide open for a challenger to Republican incumbent Scott Walker. Instead of taking on Walker, who is widely expected to seek a third term, Kind said in a statement to The Associated Press that he will focus on his work in Congress and run for re-election. The National Republican Congressional Committee announced in January that it would be targeting Kind's seat next year." Full story.

RISING INTEREST RATES - "Amid Trump resistance, Virginia Democrats see surge of candidates for House of Delegates," by the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Graham Moomaw: "As of late last week, Democrats said they had candidates running in 43 of the 66 House districts that Republicans currently represent, more than double the 21 GOP districts Democrats contested in 2015. ... Democrats have challengers in all 17 GOP-held districts that went for Clinton. 'I have not seen this before,' said Del. Charniele L. Herring, an Alexandria Democrat and chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus, of the phenomenon she described as a 'huge organic surge.' ... Republicans do not dispute the swell of activism on
the other side, but they doubt it will easily translate to GOP incumbents being dislodged en masse." Full story.

2018 PROFILE - "How America's dullest senator became Woke Bob Casey," by The Inquirer's Will Bunch: "OK, so the speaking style can still come off like a 3 a.m. radio DJ overdosing on Sominex. But to the nearly 750 people who packed the dreary, barely lit brick auditorium at the Penn Museum in University City, the mild-mannered balding man who strolled out on a Sunday afternoon in faded jeans and casual pull-over sweater was the political equivalent of a rock star. That is, a rock star who suddenly found himself at the top of the Billboard chart after years of playing obscure gigs. ...It was a scene that would have been unimaginable as recently as six months ago, when a Trump presidency
still seemed as unlikely as Villanova losing to a 16 seed in March Madness, and Casey -- after a decade in Washington - had done little to shake a reputation as arguably America's dullest senator." Full story.

NEW THIS MORNING - Getting the nod: NARAL Pro-Choice America and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia endorsed Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam in his Democratic primary against former Rep. Tom Perriello, per a statement from the group released this morning.

TRANSITIONS - BaughmanMerrill launches in California: Katie Merrill, who recently ran an anti-human trafficking proposition campaign in the state, and Duane Baughman, a direct mail specialist, are forming a new direct mail and management firm, based in San Francisco and Berkeley, per a statement from the group.

FREE TRIP? - "Want a trip to Cuba? Register 10 voters for LA House race," by The Sacramento Bee's Robin Opsahl: "A trip to Havana could be just 10 registrations away - the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project has cooked up a contest to boost participation in voting-averse Los Angeles. The non-partisan Latino voter participation organization is giving away a three-day trip for two to the recently opened up Caribbean destination. Anyone who can certify they signed up 10 new voters in the 34th Congressional District by March 20 gets an entry in the "Cuba Trip Sweepstakes" drawing." Full story.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Trump Administration Is Said to Be Working to Loosen Counterterrorism Rules," by The New York Times' Charlie Savage and Eric Schmitt: "The Trump administration is exploring how to dismantle or bypass Obama-era constraints intended to prevent civilian deaths from drone attacks, commando raids and other counterterrorism missions outside conventional war zones like Afghanistan and Iraq, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. Already, President Trump has granted a Pentagon request to declare parts of three provinces of Yemen to be an 'area of active hostilities' where looser battlefield rules apply. That opened the door to a Special Operations
raid in late January in which several civilians were killed, as well as to the largest-ever series of American airstrikes targeting Yemen-based Qaeda militants, starting nearly two weeks ago, the officials said." Full story.

- "Trump budget expected to seek historic contraction of federal workforce," by The Washington Post's Damian Paletta: "President Trump's budget proposal this week would shake the federal government to its core if enacted, culling back numerous programs and expediting a historic contraction of the federal workforce. This would be the first time the government has executed cuts of this magnitude - and all at once - since the drawdown following World War II, economists and budget analysts said. The spending budget Trump is set to release Thursday will offer the clearest snapshot of his vision for the size and role of government. Aides say that the president sees a new Washington emerging from
the budget process, one that prioritizes the military and homeland security while slashing many other areas, including housing, foreign assistance, environmental programs, public broadcasting and research. Simply put, government would be smaller and less involved in regulating life in America, with private companies and states playing a much bigger role." Full story.

- "How Perdue's power benefits his friends," by POLITICO's Ian Kullgren: "President Donald Trump's nominee for Agriculture secretary, agribusiness tycoon and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, has long mixed personal and political business to benefit his friends and business associates - and he's on track to do it again, even before he's confirmed to the Cabinet post. ... And though Perdue has yet to face a confirmation hearing, he's already lined up an associate with a job in the Trump administration. Heidi Green, a partner of Perdue's shipping business who also worked for him in Georgia state government, landed a political appointment as senior adviser at USDA in January. She's now being
mentioned as a likely candidate to serve as his chief of staff." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Political parties are disintegrating." - Gov. John Kasich pleaded with Democrats and Republicans to work together on health care, POLITICO reported.

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