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By Daniel Strauss | 05/01/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Zach Montellaro, Elena Schneider and Maggie Severns

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)

WILD WEST VIRGINIA - "Lobbyists fuel lobbyist-turned-'outsider' Senate candidate" by POLITICO's Theodoric Meyer: "West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has gone a notch above pledging to "drain the swamp" during his Senate campaign. "Let's not just change Washington; let's blow it up," Morrisey says in an early TV ad, as he drops a mountain on the Capitol dome. But Morrisey's self-described 'outsider' rhetoric cloaks an insider record: Before he was elected attorney general, Morrisey spent eight years as a Washington lobbyist, and the influence industry has fueled his campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions. Morrisey's wife is also a lobbyist, and their
work in D.C. has been the subject of unforgiving attacks from both of Morrisey's opponents in the Republican Senate primary.

"While Morrisey has tried to deflect attention away from his lobbying past, he has embraced it behind the scenes. Morrisey's campaign raised more than $250,000 from more than 200 current and former registered lobbyists through March 31, according to a POLITICO review of campaign finance records - accounting for nearly 20 percent of his individual donations." Full story.

- "Blankenship slams 'Cocaine Mitch' in anti-McConnell ad" by Politico's Alex Isenstadt: "West Virginia Senate hopeful Don Blankenship is intensifying his offensive against Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, calling him 'Cocaine Mitch' in a new TV ad released just over a week until the Republican primary. 'One of my goals as U.S. Senator will be to ditch Cocaine Mitch,' Blankenship says toward the end of the spot, which comes as polls show the coal baron falling behind his more mainstream opponents." Full story.

HOOSIER STATE - "Indiana mystery man upends bloody GOP Senate primary" by Politico's Steven Shepard: "GOP Reps. Luke Messer and Todd Rokita - personal and political rivals going back to their college days - have been locked in a bitter, two-way fight for more than a year for the right to take on one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats seeking reelection this fall. Then along came Mike Braun. ... If Braun prevails next week - he is seen as the nominal favorite and has vastly outspent his opponents - it would stand as one of the first real surprises in a Republican primary this election cycle. It would also serve as a blunt demonstration of how anti-Washington, anti-incumbent sentiment
could shape the outcome of the November election." Full story.

FOR THE FALL - NRCC IE announces $60.2M in TV reservations for the general election: "The NRCC's independent expenditure unit today rolled out $60.2 million in fall TV ad reservations covering 13 media markets. ... The list of targeted media markets and spending include: Philadelphia ($7.8 million); Washington, D.C. ($6.4M); Minneapolis ($6.4M); Detroit ($5.7M); Pittsburgh ($3.8M); Las Vegas ($3.6M); Miami ($3.2M); Tucson ($1.94M); San Antonio ($1.8M); Denver ($1.8M); Sacramento ($1.48M); Albany ($1.2M); and California's San Joaquin Valley ($1.2M)." Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - EMILY's List and End Citizens United team up for Katie Porter: EMILY's List and End Citizens United are collaborating on a six-figure expenditure supporting Katie Porter, the Democrat challenging Rep. Mimi Walters in California's 45th District. The direct mail will target more than 52,000 families. The groups will also target roughly 200,000 voters via digital ads on Facebook and Google. The spending on Porter's district is the first collaboration of its kind between EMILY's List and ECU.

Days until the 2018 election: 189

Upcoming election dates - Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia primaries: May 8 - Idaho, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Oregon primaries: May 15 - Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky primaries, plus Texas primary runoffs: May 22.

Upcoming filing deadlines - Florida: May 4 - Massachusetts: May 8 - Washington: May 18 - Arizona: May 30.

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.

POLITICO's Ben White is bringing Morning Money to the Milken Institute Global Conference to provide coverage of the day's events and evening happenings. The newsletter will run April 29 - May 2. Sign up to keep up with your daily conference coverage.

NEW SPENDER - Texas Republicans team up to take on Club for Growth-backed candidate in TX-05: A super PAC formed earlier this year called Our Conservative Texas Future disclosed spending $245,000 on media and direct mail in Texas' 5th District on Monday in support of GOP primary candidate Lance Gooden. The disclosure marks the group's first major expenditure of the cycle. The PAC's consultant, Kevin Stuart, said area businesspeople "who want to be sure the district is represented by people who have been living there and are fighting for them" are contributing to the PAC, which reported raising $100,000 during the first quarter, and he hopes to make more expenditures during the primary.
They're up against serious muscle: The Club for Growth has run ads aiding Gooden's opponent, Bunni Pounds. "Even though we're outgunned, we feel confident that we have a message and we'll be successful," Stuart said. Filing here.

AD WARS - Scott Walker releases first ad: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's reelection campaign is releasing its first statewide television ad, "Helping People Like Me." The 30-second ad is running statewide both on TV and digital platforms. Watch the ad here.

- FIRST IN SCORE - VoteVets pops TV ad boosting Martinez in MN-01: VoteVets is going up with a TV ad buy backing Democrat Damon Martinez in the open seat. "Donald Trump fired New Mexico's U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez because he prosecuted corporations that pollute our environment," the ad's narrator says. "Because he cracked down on domestic violence and took assault weapons off the streets, because he fought for his fellow veterans." Watch the ad here.

- Tucker launches first campaign TV spot: Democrat Clarke Tucker released his first TV ad in his race against Arkansas Rep. French Hill, talking about his battle with cancer and promises to "stand up to anyone who tries to take your insurance." Watch the ad here.

- El-Sayed campaign releases first TV ad: Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed's campaign is rolling out its first TV ad Tuesday. Titled the "People's Summer," the 30-second spot features El-Sayed arguing that "we need new blood in places like Lansing and D.C." Watch the ad here.

-Stemerman pops first ad: Connecticut Republican businessman David Stemerman released his first statewide ad in the GOP primary for governor. The ad, "Real World," is part of Stemerman's $400,000 statewide ad campaign. Watch the ad here.

- Trone ad pokes fun at Trump: David Trone, a candidate for Congress in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, released a 30-second ad poking fun at President Donald Trump. The ad is titled "Bigly." Watch it here.

INTERNAL POLLING - "Hawley internal poll shows neck-and-neck race with McCaskill" by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley has 47 percent to Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill's 46 percent in a new internal poll of the Missouri Senate race released by Hawley's campaign. The polling memo from Republican pollster Wes Anderson of OnMessage argues that Hawley has been unaffected by the turmoil surrounding GOP Gov. Eric Greitens, who has been indicted twice and is the subject of another investigation by the state legislature." Full story.

TESTER'S CAVALRY - "Warren rushing to Tester's aid after Trump attack" by Politico's Zachary Warmbrodt: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren is coming to the rescue of Sen. Jon Tester in the face of escalating attacks by President Donald Trump, just weeks after her campaign trashed the politically vulnerable Montana Democrat for supporting a landmark bank deregulation bill. In a fundraising email Monday, the progressive leader called on her vast base of supporters to donate to Tester's reelection campaign and help him fight back." Full story.

GETTING THE NOD - NARAL Pro-Choice America backs Brown: NARAL Pro-Choice America announced it is endorsing Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, per a statement with the group.

OUTSIDER STATUS - Jenkins launches Independent bid in Texas Senate: Jonathan Jenkins, a tech entrepreneur, announced that he's launching an Independent Party bid in the Texas Senate race. Check out his launch video here.

STAFFING UP - Deep Root Analytics named David Seawright its vice president of client strategy. He previously served as director of analytics and product innovation. Prior to Deep Root Analytics he worked at Brabender Cox.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I know what the odds say, but I'd much rather be sitting where we are than where they are." - House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, talking to GOP pollster Frank Luntz on stage at the Milken Global conference, on the midterm elections on April 30.

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