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By Daniel Strauss | 05/03/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Zach Montellaro 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)

TENNESSEE DRAMA - "Corker-Blackburn drama risks must-win Senate seat for GOP" by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Rachael Bade: "Republicans are increasingly unnerved by the rift between retiring Sen. Bob Corker and Marsha Blackburn, the GOP congresswoman vying to replace him, saying it could cost them a must-win seat in Tennessee. The duo's chilly relationship has spilled into the open after Corker praised Blackburn's Democratic opponent and refused to even utter her name in multiple media appearances this spring. The retiring senator's remarks have boosted former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and agitated Blackburn's supporters, who want Corker to help heal the state party, not inflame its
divisions. ... The drama between Blackburn and Corker, combined with Bredesen's crossover appeal, hint at a potential train wreck for Republicans in November that could swing the narrowly divided Senate to Democrats." Full story.

FLORIDA POLITICS - "Do Democrats want an anti-Trump, or their own Trump?" by POLITICO Magazine's Michael Grunwald: "If scientists engineered the polar opposite of Donald Trump, a bizarro-world version of the rage-tweeting, fancy-living, drama-stirring mogul-turned-president, their lab might produce Gwen Graham. The former stay-at-home mom who hopes to become Florida's first woman governor is almost everything Trump is not ... Graham shares the president's love of Diet Coke, and as the daughter of former Florida governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham, she too grew up in a powerful family and followed her father into the family business. Otherwise, she's basically the living embodiment of the
anti-Trump." Full story.

MIDWESTERN MATTERS - "Ohio presents Democrats' first Midwestern test of 2018" by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Democrats are looking to November for an opportunity to re-stake their claim to the Midwest after President Donald Trump painted it red in 2016. But first, they need to figure out who - and what - they want to put forward. Ohio's primary on Tuesday is the party's first test along that road, with former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Richard Cordray and former Rep. Dennis Kucinich brandishing different brands of populism before Democratic voters, as well as different theories about how to win the swing state. ... The primary has above all been a stylistic debate about
whether winning Ohio requires an outspoken firebrand or a more pragmatic progressive, with policy discussion focusing on topics meant to appeal to the November electorate, like guns or regulating big banks. It could be a preview of Democratic primary contests to come in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin - and elsewhere around the country - as the party seeks to rebuild in the states." Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - EMILY's List is endorsing Laura Kelly in the Democratic primary for governor of Kansas. Per a statement from EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock: "Laura Kelly is the candidate Kansans need as Governor to revive economic opportunity for working families. Laura has been a vocal opponent of the disastrous [former Gov. Sam] Brownback tax plan that left public schools, health care, and infrastructure severely underfunded. As the next governor, Laura will prioritize investing in kids and families to ensure all Kansans have the opportunity to succeed."

Days until the 2018 election: 187

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.

FAKE ADS? - "West Virginia Senate candidate distorts reality in campaign ad," by Yahoo News' Jon Ward: "A Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in West Virginia is running an ad showing his primary opponent shaking hands with Hillary Clinton - something that never happened. The ad uses a manipulated version of a photograph that originally showed his rival shaking the hand of someone else: President [Donald] Trump. ... A recent ad from [Rep. Evan] Jenkins' campaign showed one of his Republican opponents, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, genially greeting Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for president. The image is a fake." Full story.

DRUMS IN THE DEEP - "Greitens campaign sought to conceal donors' identities, former staffer testifies," by the Kansas City Star's Bryan Lowry and Steve Vockrodt: "Gov. Eric Greitens' campaign explored methods to conceal the identity of contributors from its early stages, according to testimony from a former campaign staffer. Michael Hafner, a longtime GOP consultant who worked on Greitens' campaign early on, told lawmakers that the governor directed him to 'have conversations with donors who intended to raise significant amounts of money and ... conceal the identity of those donors.' Hafner said that at the governor's urging, he spoke with Monu Joseph, a California-based venture capitalist
who wanted to discuss how to bundle donations and conceal the identity of donors by funneling them through LLCs, according to a transcript of Hafner's March testimony to a special House committee. During the campaign, Greitens touted his commitment to transparency and blasted candidates who relied on support from political action committees to obscure their financial backers." Full story.

DEM PRIMARY WATCH - Moulton endorses Reddick in Pennsylvania battleground primary: Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton and his veteran-backing Serve America PAC are jumping into PA-01 on behalf of Rachel Reddick, a Navy veteran running for the Democratic nomination to take on GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. Reddick faces self-funding businessman Scott Wallace, who had over twice as much cash on hand after the first quarter and has already spent over $1 million on TV ads, according to Advertising Analytics.

OOPS - The Intercept throttles back on its CA-39 story: "The original version of this story reported as fact that the voice on the answering machine belonged to Cisneros, based on comparisons made by Intercept reporters and others of Cisneros's voice to that on the recording, but after further examination, we have concluded that there is room for doubt about who left the voicemail. [Ed] Primeau," whom the article introduced a paragraph above as one of the "top voice identification experts" in the U.S., "said after reviewing the tape that it is his 'subjective opinion' that the voicemail was left by somebody other than Cisneros."

ON THE AIRWAVES - EMILY's List weighs in on PA-07 primary: A super PAC affiliated with EMILY's List is going up with a six-figure TV ad buy, attacking Democrat John Morganelli, who "opposes a woman's right to choose." The ad's narrator says Morganelli "suggested he hoped to serve in Trump's administration." EMILY's List endorsed one of Morganelli's primary opponents, Susan Wild. Watch the ad here.

- Defending Main Street ups TV spending in OH-12: Defending Main Street announced its second round of a six-figure ad buy in the Republican primary, boosting Troy Balderson as "one tough conservative." Watch the ad here.

- Walker campaign releases second ad: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's reelection campaign is releasing its TV and digital ad. The spot focuses on fighting the opioid crisis. Watch the ad here.

- Sisolak releases ad on education: Nevada Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Sisolak's campaign released its fifth ad, "Too Many," focused on the candidate's education policy proposals. Watch the ad here.

WATCH LIST - NRCC adds 14 candidates to second tier of 'Young Guns' program: "The NRCC added 14 candidates to the "contender phase," the second tier of its "Young Guns" program, which helps boost Republican candidates in competitive House races. The committee added several candidates running in open races, including the crowded primaries to replace Minnesota Democratic Rep. Tim Walz and California GOP Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. The full list of candidates include: Lea Márquez Peterson (AZ-02), Steve Ferrara (AZ-09), Young Kim (CA-39), Shawn Nelson (CA-39), Rocky Chavez (CA-49), Diane Harkey (CA-49), Kristin Gaspar (CA-49), Carla Nelson (MN-01), Jim Hagedorn (MN-01), Pete
Stauber (MN-08), Steve Lonegan (NJ-05), James Maxwell (NY-25), John Chrin (PA-08) and Dino Rossi (WA-08)." Full story.

PRIMARY MEDDLING - "Mystery nonprofit ad attacks Cordray as 'Republican-lite'": "A group called the Citizens Policy Institute is airing a 30-second ad linking Democrat Richard Cordray, the front-runner in Ohio Democrats' gubernatorial primary, to President Donald Trump and calling him 'Republican-lite.'" Full story.

- "A new group is attacking an Ohio Democrat from the left. A Republican is behind the group." by Buzzfeed's Henry Gomez and Ruby Cramer: "A Republican donor is aiming to influence Ohio's competitive Democratic primary for governor by attacking the establishment's preferred candidate - from the left. Restauranteur Thomas "Tony" George is behind the nonprofit Citizens Policy Institute, which has produced a 30-second television ad blasting Richard Cordray, the state's former attorney general and the former head of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau." Full story.

STAFFING UP - Joe Trippi and Associates announces that it is becoming Trippi, Norton, Rossmeissl Campaigns. Julie Norton and Tom Rossmeissl have been added as partners to the firm. Norton previously spent 15 years at SKDKnickerbocker. She worked with Trippi on Howard Dean's presidential campaign. Rossmeissl was previously managing director at Trippi and Associates. He also recently founded Family Farm Action, a progressive organization that works to "amplify the voices of farmers and rural issues."

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I think it's clear that on both sides of the aisle, people are seeking new leadership, and I'm going to be looking for someone who best represents my district and what we care about here." - Michigan Democratic congressional candidate Elissa Slotkin saying to The Washington Post that she would like to see an alternative to Rep. Nancy Pelosi as leader of House Democrats.

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