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12/06/2018 10:00 AM EDT

By ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Score is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Campaigns subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.
THE TOPLINES
PRESSURE COOKER IN N.C. - Calls for a deeper investigation into potential election fraud or even a new election in NC-09 are getting louder (for a recap of the scandal involving an independent contractor working for Republican Mark Harris, read my Campaign Pro compatriot Elena Schneider's story).

The editorial board of The Charlotte Observer called for a new election. "Unless new evidence somehow clears the clouds hanging over this election, the Board of Elections should toss out the 9th District results," the paper's board wrote. National Democrats have gradually started weighing in. DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said Tuesday that "election fraud must be investigated fully," while Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), a senior member of the House Oversight Committee, on Wednesday called for an emergency hearing in Congress.

And in the meantime, the news keeps coming. WSOC's Allison Latos reported that the Wake County district attorney has opened up a criminal investigation focused on absentee ballots in three elections: this year's general election, the May primary and the 2016 election. The Charlotte Observer's Brian Murphy, Carli Brosseau and Anna Douglas reported that this is at least the fifth investigation into voting irregularities in Bladen County since 2010 (relatedly, check out a profile of WSOC journalist Joe Bruno's great shoe leather reporting in The Washington Post). An "evidentiary hearing" from the state board of elections is scheduled for on or before Dec. 21.

The inner workings of the operation at the center of the scandal are also being revealed. BuzzFeed News' Brianna Sacks and Otillia Steadman: "Now two women intimately involved with McCrae Dowless's absentee ballot machine have revealed to BuzzFeed News its grim and chaotic workings, in which Dowless tracked votes on yellow paper and paid his workers, including family members, from stacks of cash, and that some were on opioids while they worked."

For those wondering: A DCCC staffer told Score that there's "a number" of senior staffers and lawyers on the ground in NC-09 now. The NRCC didn't answer a question on staffing in the district.

Good Thursday morning. Democrats are hoping to revive a small tax cut for political contributions to encourage more small donations, Pro Tax's Brian Faler reported. Email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the great Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com and dstrauss@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @JamesArkin, @ec_schneider and @DanielStrauss4.

Days until the 2019 election: 334

Days until the 2020 election: 698
IN THE TRENCHES
RULES CHANGED - Wisconsin Republican state lawmakers passed a package of bills that would strip incoming Democratic elected officials of some powers and shorten early voting. The Wisconsin State Journal's Mark Sommerhauser and Riley Vetterkind: Outgoing GOP Gov. Scott "Walker must sign the bills before leaving office next month before they become law. As of Wednesday evening his spokeswoman had not responded to requests for whether and when he might sign the bills. ... Asked if he'd have any recourse if the bills become law, [Democratic Gov.-elect Tony] Evers said 'everything's on the table, from litigation to other actions.'"

- In Michigan, state Senate Republicans also advanced a pair of bills that would strip powers from the incoming Democratic secretary of state and affect a voter-approved voting access ballot initiative, The Detroit News' Jonathan Oosting reported.

STAFFING UP - Parker Poling will be the executive director of the NRCC for next cycle, POLITICO's John Bresnahan and Alex Isenstadt reported.

- Dave Rexrode will be the next executive director of the RGA, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reported.

DEBATING DEBATES - Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell stopped by POLITICO HQ on Wednesday to talk 2020 and the Democratic field. One interesting point from the former DNC chief: With a field of potentially dozens of candidates, how do you handle debates? Rendell suggested two debates of 10 people each, with each debate picked by lot. The party should mandate that each candidate gets the same number of questions. And as the field starts to narrow, the top contenders should have a limited number of "regional debates" in different parts of the country. "The more debates you have, the more chance you have for fatal errors" he said.

BIG DATA - Democrats are feuding over who gets to control a precious resource: data. POLITICO's Alex Thompson: "The fight involves a trove of Democratic voter information splintered among state parties, outside groups, and the Democratic National Committee. The DNC wants to pool all of it into one massive database that could be leveraged to the benefit of the party's eventual presidential nominee. But state parties are accusing the national party of mounting a power grab that could enrich a handful of elite party figures. ... The DNC is advocating for a proposal modeled on the Republican Party's data operation. It would amass all the voter data from Democratic groups into a single,
for-profit entity.

"But in interviews with more than two dozen state party chairs, vice chairs and executive directors, the response to the proposal being pushed by DNC Chairman Tom Perez and his leadership team ranged from skeptical to outright hostile. Both sides agree that being able to swap data seamlessly with outside groups is necessary, but they're at loggerheads over the best way to make it happen."

PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - Before candidates dive into a race, they should know what they're getting into. CNN's Lauren Dezenski: "In that behind-the-scenes planning, the first step is getting buy-in from your family. ... Once a candidate decides to run, they need to act fast, often tapping into an already established network of friends, family, and - most importantly - supporters. ... Then, of course, they start building a ground game in the early states."

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that she is "considering" a run for the White House, on MSNBC's Hardball on Tuesday.

- Florida Democrat Andrew Gillum met with former President Barack Obama on Tuesday, CNN's Rebecca Buck reported.

HARRIS STAFFER RESIGNS - A top aide to Sen. Kamala Harris resigned Wednesday amid allegations of sexual harassment. POLITICO's Marianne Levine: "[Larry] Wallace's resignation came after the Sacramento Bee asked about a $400,000 settlement to end a lawsuit from Danielle Hartley, who was Wallace's assistant at the California Department of Justice. Wallace was director of the Division of Law Enforcement, under Harris who was state attorney general at the time."

"We were unaware of this issue and take accusations of harassment extremely seriously," Lily Adams, a Harris spokesperson, said in a statement.

IN NEW JERSEY - Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday he didn't know that Katie Brennan, a staffer in his administration, was referring to sexual assault allegations against another staffer, Al Alvarez, when she emailed Murphy and his wife asking to discuss a "sensitive matter." More from POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman: "Murphy said that because the email from Brennan mentioned the campaign, he forwarded it to Chief Counsel Matt Platkin and Campaign Counsel Jonathan Berkon. Berkon got in touch with Brennan days later. ... At the time of Brennan's allegation, Alvarez was a campaign staffer and she was a supporter. Brennan testified that she told the Murphy
administration's chief ethics officer, only to hear that there was nothing she could do because neither Brennan nor Alvarez were state employees at the time of the alleged incident."

OUT OF SESSION(S) - Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't seem particularly eager to reclaim his old Senate seat. "I've been clearing my brain. I think that's a fair statement," he said during a ride on the Senate subway Wednesday, per POLITICO's Burgess Everett. "I'll go to Alabama, do some things and then that will clarify things a little more before I worry about making a statement." And when asked if he missed the Senate, he was more blunt. "No. I mean, no," he said. "I could go back and spend time in the woods."

NOT I - One person who won't fill the seat of the late-Sen. John McCain, if and when Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) steps down, is Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. "I want you to know I'm going to serve the four years of my governorship," he said, per the Arizona Daily Star.

MAINE ATTRACTION - A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday from GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin and Democratic Rep.-elect Jared Golden over the constitutionality of ranked voting. The Portland Press Herald's Scott Thistle: "The hearing ended early Wednesday afternoon with [U.S. District Judge Lance] Walker saying he intended to issue a decision by next week. ... Legal scholars have said it's unlikely that the court would strike down the election process because the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly say how states should hold their elections."

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Think of the f'n phenomenon Gritty is! If Gritty had been attached to the stimulus, Obama would've won by 500 electoral votes," Rendell told POLITICO, recounting how he recommended the 2009 stimulus package should have a mascot attached to infrastructure projects.

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