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By Elena Schneider | 02/28/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard, Theodoric Meyer and Daniel Strauss

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)

ON THE HILL TONIGHT - "Republicans beg Trump for direction with Capitol Hill address," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Rachael Bade: "Republicans won unified control of government nearly four months ago - yet find their party's agenda stalled amid infighting. Now GOP lawmakers are pinning their hopes on President Donald Trump to break the logjam and take control. Forget another campaign speech. The GOP wants Trump to grab the bully pulpit Tuesday with his first address to a joint session of Congress and lay out a viable path to complete the difficult tasks of overhauling the nation's health care system, rewriting the tax code and building a massive wall on the southern border. If the
president fails to whip bickering lawmakers into line, his most important campaign promises could wither on Capitol Hill. ...Trump's often ambiguous policy views may have been an effective campaign tactic, but these days they are a major source of confusion to members of his own party. And time may be running out for Trump to capitalize on what political momentum he still retains to push through his agenda amid Democratic resistance and GOP divisions." Full story.

- FIRST IN SCORE - Judicial Crisis Network airs pro-Gorsuch ad during address: The conservative group will air an ad on CNN and NBC around Trump's address tonight, promoting Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and saying he's "just who we need on the Supreme Court." The ad is part of $100,000 buy. Watch the ad here.

HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED - "Virginia Democratic governor candidates shifted rapidly on immigration," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "One candidate said businesses should crack down on illegal hiring and force undocumented immigrants to 'self-deport' from the U.S. His primary opponent promised more money to help local police detain immigrants here illegally. Meet the Democrats running for governor of Virginia in 2017."

- "The catch: Both former Rep. Tom Perriello and Lt. Gov Ralph Northam have long since disavowed the views they held on immigration not a decade ago. And the candidates' big, rapid shifts on the issue are signs of broader changes in both the Democratic Party and in the state of Virginia during the same time. No issue symbolizes the Democrats' leftward shift under Barack Obama as much as immigration, which has gone from a subject of fierce intra-party debate before his presidency to a lockstep policy plank afterward. And no state epitomizes why Democrats felt comfortable making that shift as much as Virginia, where they feel that growing numbers of non-white and college-educated voters have
shifted the state from deep red to purple to blue in the last decade." Full story.

TESTING THE WATER - "Cuomo tiptoes toward 2020 run," by POLITICO New York's Jimmy Vielkind: "After studiously avoiding the event for six years, Andrew Cuomo finally made an appearance in Washington during the presidential showcase formally known as the National Governors Association winter meeting. The New York governor's visit was fleeting - he hobnobbed at a Friday evening reception with his Democratic colleagues before returning home the same day - but it's a step onto the national stage guaranteed to fuel speculation about his 2020 intentions. ... Cuomo, of course, insists that he's not thinking about a presidential run in four years, even as he takes more steps to join the national
conversation - in the days before the Washington trip, he urged congressional Democrats to 'stand up' and 'fight'; to protect Obamacare. But New York operatives, state lawmakers and longtime associates see the 59-year-old governor as carefully laying down markers for his future, whatever it may hold, after Hillary Clinton's unexpected defeat." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 252.

Days until the 2018 election: 616.

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 awkward truth. @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

FIRST IN SCORE - End Citizens United fundraising spikes after Trump inauguration: From Jan. 20 to Feb. 20, End Citizens United brought in $1.75 million and picked up 14,000 new donors, per a statement from the group.

VOTER LAW UPDATE - "Lawyer: Justice Department to no longer contest Texas' voter ID law," via the Associated Press: "An attorney for a voting rights group said Monday that President Donald Trump's administration said that the federal government no longer plans to challenge Texas' strict voter ID law. Danielle Lang, of the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, said the Justice Department informed plaintiffs in the case that it will be filing documents to formally drop its opposition to the Texas law. She called the decision an 'extraordinary disappointment.'" Full story.

- Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias issued a statement via Priorities USA: "Make no mistake: this move is just the beginning of the Trump administration's coordinated assault on the right to vote, and it demands an aggressive response."

THE REBUILD - Third Way report argues Democrats can't rely on demographics: Third Way, the centrist Democratic think tank, is out with a new report arguing Democrats need to abandon their belief that demographic change makes them inevitable winner of future elections. Why? The authors give three reasons: "Demographic change is not evenly dispersed in states and voting districts throughout the country. ... Voting behavior is not static. ... Despite the large change in the demographic composition of the electorate, most voters still do not self-identify as liberals." Read the full report here.

KIDS TODAY - AP poll finds teenagers not fond of Trump: An Associated Press poll of 13- to 17-year-olds (hey, they'll be able to vote in 2020) found the group leans liberal, with 29 percent saying they would register as a Democrat, 23 percent saying they would register as a Republican and 24 percent unsure. While 62 percent of them have a favorable opinion of former President Barack Obama, just 30 percent have a favorable opinion of President Donald Trump. And while they oppose building the wall and a Muslim ban, a plurality is in favor of repealing Obamacare. Read much more here.

STAFFING UP - DSCC hires finance director: Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - NRCC hits "liberal activists" in town halls: The NRCC is pushing back on town hall coverage with a new web video that attacks "liberal activists" for "trying to prevent conservatives from passing real healthcare reform," splicing together footage from protesters. "This vocal minority wants to keep this failed law the way it is. We won't be deterred," the video continues. Watch the video here.

EVERYBODY'S FRIENDS NOW - Ellison and Perez make nice: Less than 72 hours after losing to former Labor Secretary Tom Perez in the DNC chair race Rep. Keith Ellison announced that he would take newly-minted chair Perez as his guest to President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress, as both Democrats try to prevent any kind of rift with the pro-Bernie Sanders, Ellison-backing wing of the party. "Keith and I and Democrats united across the country will serve as the American people's greatest champion and Donald Trump's worst nightmare," Perez said in a statement.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Trump to Seek $54 Billion Increase in Military Spending," by The New York Times' Michael D. Shear and Jennifer Steinhauer: "President Trump put both political parties on notice Monday that he intends to slash spending on many of the federal government's most politically sensitive programs - relating to education, the environment, science and poverty - to protect the economic security of retirees and to shift billions more to the armed forces. The proposal to increase military spending by $54 billion and cut nonmilitary programs by the same amount was unveiled by White House officials as they prepare the president's plans for next year's federal budget. ... In
effect, Mr. Trump appears determined to take sides in a generational struggle between older, sicker Americans who depend on the entitlement programs, and their younger, poorer counterparts whose livelihoods are shaped by the domestic programs likely to see steep cuts." Full story.

- "Spicer withdraws from fundraiser for Trump critic," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "White House press secretary Sean Spicer has withdrawn as a headliner at a Wednesday fundraiser for an Ohio state senator who in October called Donald Trump's personal conduct 'disgusting' and said the nominee 'hasn't demonstrated to me that he deserves my vote.' Spicer said he pulled out of the event on Sunday, but neither he nor other administration officials would say why he had agreed to participate in the first place. An invitation for the Capitol Hill fundraiser, benefiting Ohio Republican Frank LaRose, labeled Spicer a 'special guest' and prominently displayed the press secretary's picture. For the
opportunity to spend time with Spicer and LaRose, invitees were asked to donate as much as $1,000." Full story.

- "GOP Intel chair Burr under fire over ties to Trump," by POLITICO's Austin Wright: "On the campaign trail last fall, GOP Sen. Richard Burr told North Carolina voters there was no 'separation' between himself and Donald Trump. The Senate Intelligence Committee chairman also bragged about his role in getting the FBI to investigate Hillary Clinton's emails. Now, the third-term senator is under fire for running interference for the White House last week on a news report asserting repeated contacts between Trump's campaign and Moscow. And some Democrats are wondering whether Burr, who also served as a national security adviser to Trump's campaign, is too close to Trump to lead an impartial
investigation." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated." - President Trump, on health care reform, via POLITICO.

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