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<p>By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com) <br />
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<strong>SCORE EXCLUSIVE -- HANDEL LEANS IN</strong>: Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel is launching her first ad of the Republican runoff primary for governor, blasting former Rep. Nathan Deal with an ethics-themed attack and playing the gender card while she's at it. “One carries a purse; the other carries baggage,” the commercial begins, framing the race as photos of Handel and Deal appear in turn. “One whom Sarah Palin says cut government and is the true conservative; or the other, who added trillions to our national debt. One, a conservative reformer; one a corrupt relic of Washington D.C.” It's a forceful, timely ad, going up just one day after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a federal grand jury has called witnesses in an investigation of Deal's auto salvage business. The spot closes on a positive note: “Impeccable integrity. Our thrilling, vibrant future. Karen Handel: Bring it on.” Watch it here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aqN2yY">http://bit.ly/aqN2yY</a> <br />
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The GOP runoff primary is rapidly approaching, on Aug. 10, and both Handel and Deal have the resources to make it competitive -- and nasty. POLITICO's Jessica Taylor reported yesterday that the two candidates have each raised about half a million dollars since the first-round primary on July 20. And while Handel can claim Palin's (and Mitt Romney's) backing, Deal has won endorsements from the NRA, Georgia Right to Life and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. None of that may matter, however, if Handel can define the race in terms of ethics. <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/cbZaqH">http://politi.co/cbZaqH</a> <br />
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As New Hampshire tightens, Mike Huckabee does Michigan and one Kentucky Dem looks more secure, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections. <br />
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<strong>2012 TALKER -- WARNING SHOTS</strong>: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will batter the Obama administration's national security record in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute this morning, continuing to stake out a position as the most confident foreign policy voice among the GOP's possible 2012 contenders. “America is at risk of a catastrophic disaster here at home, a reality our elites are hiding from,” Gingrich will say. “The key lesson of the Christmas Detroit bomber and the Times Square car bomber is that our national security system failed completely and we were notified by civilian passengers and a street vendor about two bombs which could have killed many Americans. Yet, there has been no honest assessment of failure. Indeed, from 9/11 to the present nobody has been fired for failure to perform, even though it's obvious there have been many failures.” <br />
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<strong>DEMS DOLE IT OUT</strong>: The DNC made a new wave of cash transfers to other Democratic committees, giving $833,333 each to the DSCC and DCCC, as well as $400,000 to the Florida Democratic Party, $333,333 to the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and $100,000 to the Maryland Democratic Party, a Democratic official said. That's a total of $2.5 million in outlays, with the state party donations targeted at the governor's races in those states. The DNC's cash disbursements so far come to $1.5 million for the DSCC, $1.5 million for the DCCC and $1.5 million to state committees. <br />
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<strong>POLL OF THE DAY -- CHANDLER WAY AHEAD</strong>: Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler has a 14-point lead over Republican challenger Andy Barr, according to a nonpartisan cn|2 poll. Chandler draws 46.1 percent support in the Braun Research survey, compared with 32.2 percent for Barr. The race hasn't gotten negative yet, though, and both candidates had high net favorable numbers: Chandler had a 56.5 percent favorable rating and a 41.7 percent unfavorable rating, while for Barr those numbers were 41.7 to 19.2, respectively. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9tHhn3">http://bit.ly/9tHhn3</a> <br />
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<strong>SCORE'S TAKE -- WHY IT MATTERS</strong>: The poll has to be an encouraging sign for Democrats, since there's no road to a GOP majority that doesn't run through districts like Kentucky's 6th. But Chandler's a well funded, well known, apparently well liked incumbent whose only major vulnerability is his vote for last year's energy bill -- and his support is still below 50 percent. That's less encouraging for senior Democrats with more points of weakness than Chandler. <br />
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<strong>COURANT RUNS WITH IT</strong>: Connecticut's biggest newspaper endorsed former Rep. Rob Simmons for the GOP's Senate nomination Wednesday, backing him just a day after the resurrected primary candidate confirmed he's really, truly almost back in the race. “Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons has a gold-plated public-service resume. His votes over time have been in line with the mostly moderate traditions of the Republican Party in Connecticut,” the paper wrote. “Our doubts center on Mr. Simmons' strange non-campaign campaign since losing the party's endorsement to Linda McMahon at the May 22 state convention. He put his campaign in mothballs and laid off his staff, but left his name on the ballot.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/b7VXDq">http://bit.ly/b7VXDq</a> </p><p><strong>CALIFORNIA'S TEMPERATURE</strong>: Democratic state Attorney General Jerry Brown holds a narrow advantage in the race for governor of California and Sen. Barbara Boxer has only a slightly wider lead in her bid for reelection, the Public Policy Institute of California reports. In a PPIC poll pubilshed overnight, Brown led Republican former eBay CEO Meg Whitman by three points, 37 percent to 34 percent, while Boxer led former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina by five, 39 percent to 34 percent. The poll focused on Californians' views of the environment and concluded: “Of those saying that a candidate's environmental positions are very important in determining their vote, 50 percent would vote for Brown and 16 percent would vote for Whitman. Among those who say a candidate's environmental positions are somewhat important, Whitman is favored (42% to 33%) ... Those who view candidates' positions on the environment as very important are three times as likely to support Boxer (54%) as Fiorina (18%). Among those who say candidates' views on the environment are somewhat important, support is evenly divided (37% to 37%).” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9OM2nx">http://bit.ly/9OM2nx</a> <br />
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<strong>PLUS -- SENATE SNAPSHOT</strong>: The race for retiring New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg's seat appears to have tightened, the University of New Hampshire poll shows, as former Republican state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte's negatives have climbed. Ayotte still leads Rep. Paul Hodes, the presumptive Democratic nominee who has already run ads against her, by eight points, 45 percent to 37 percent -- but that's down from a 15-point lead in April. Wealthy financier Bill Binnie is the only Republican to maintain a more or less stable advantage in the race, leading Hodes by three points now after being ahead by two points in April. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/di314n">http://bit.ly/di314n</a> <br />
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<strong>PAWLENTY PLAYS AT HOME</strong>: The Minnesota governor cut four $2,000 checks to long-shot House hopefuls in his state this week, supporting Teresa Collett (against Rep. Betty McCollum), Lee Byberg (against Rep. Collin Peterson), Joel Demos (against Rep. Keith Ellison) and Chip Cravaack (against Jim Oberstar). KEYC-TV reports that puts Pawlenty's imprimatur on all eight Minnesota House races, following earlier donations to three GOP incumbents and the more credible challenger Randy Demmer, who's running in Democratic Rep. Tim Walz's district. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bRFan7">http://bit.ly/bRFan7</a> <br />
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<strong>ANGLE ADDS TO THE TEAM</strong>: Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle has added two new staffers to her communications department, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports, making Jordan Gehrke communications director and Ciara Matthews his deputy. Gehrke recently worked as a consultant for Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown's campaign and Matthews comes to Angle by way of the Nevada Republican Party. From Laura Myers's report: “In the next three months, Angle will focus her message on Reid and the state's record unemployment, home foreclosure and bankruptcy rates, Matthews said. At the same time, Angle will begin to hold more free-wheeling sessions with the media, according to Matthews.” The hires follow the NRSC's decision to deploy Sacramento-based operative Brian Jones as an adviser to the Angle campaign after its rocky start to the general election. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aBA8RH">http://bit.ly/aBA8RH</a> <br />
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<strong>COUNTDOWN TO TUESDAY</strong>: Michigan's GOP candidates for governor are still jockeying for advantage ahead of the Aug. 3 primary, and Rep. Pete Hoekstra is running a new commercial intended to blunt his opponents' attacks on his record in Congress. “I'm fiscally conservative, 100 percent pro-life, pro-gun and I have a 95 percent voting record. Case closed,” he says in the spot. “Write this down: I'll cut red tape, spending and taxes.” State Attorney General Mike Cox, meanwhile, still reeling from charges that he attended a party with strippers at Detroit's Manoogian Mansion, is getting a campaign visit from Mike Huckabee today. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/d5rHeS">http://bit.ly/d5rHeS</a> and <a target="_top" href="http://bit.ly/a1ZzVw">http://bit.ly/a1ZzVw</a> <br />
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<strong>ACROSS THE BIG MAP</strong> -- with POLITICO's Tim Alberta: <br />
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-- Chamber makes an exception. The Florida Chamber of Commerce endorsed state Attorney General Bill McCollum's campaign for governor, breaking with its record of staying out of gubernatorial elections to support him ahead of next month's Republican primary. McCollum is competing for the GOP nomination with wealthy former health care executive Rick Scott. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9LOM8d">http://bit.ly/9LOM8d</a> <br />
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-- Meek makes no promises. Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek declined to say Wednesday whether he would support billionaire Jeff Greene in a general election, if Greene defeats him for the Democratic nomination. The congressman said that if Greene made it out of the primary, Floridians would end up watching “three Republicans debating one another” in the fall campaign with Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist. <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/9M6tmk">http://politi.co/9M6tmk</a> <br />
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-- Pearce backs Gorman. The Arizona legislator who authored the state's anti-illegal immigration law has endorsed state Sen. Pamela Gordon's campaign for outgoing GOP Rep. John Shadegg's House seat. State Sen. Russell Pearce's backing could draw attention to Gorman's candidacy despite her serious financial disadvantage in a crowded field: she has raised just $65,000, compared with $1.1 million for fundraising leader Ben Quayle. <a target="_blank" href="http://politi.co/a8gQF3">http://politi.co/a8gQF3</a> <br />
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-- Kitzhaber closes. Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is nearly tied with his Republican opponent, former NBA player Chris Dudley, in his bid to reclaim his old office. A SurveyUSA poll of the governor's race shows Kitzhaber at 44 percent to Dudley's 46 percent; last month Dudley had a seven-point lead. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cMQLer">http://bit.ly/cMQLer</a> <br />
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-- Fly like an Eagle Forum. Michigan congressional candidate Rocky Raczkowski is distancing himself from one of his vocal conservative endorsers, Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly, after the longtime activist made comments at one of his events that disparaged single women for supporting President Barack Obama. Said Schlafly: “When you kick your husband out, you've got to have big brother government to be your provider.” Raczkowski, who's seeking the GOP nomination against Democratic Rep. Gary Peters, responded to the remarks by noting he didn't agree with them but adding: “I will fight vehemently for her to have her beliefs.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bn1QsJ">http://bit.ly/bn1QsJ</a> </p><br>
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