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By Scott Bland | 07/10/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Daniel Strauss, Maggie Severns 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)

SIX WEEKS OUT - Strange mailer attacks Brooks as Alabama Senate primary draws near: GOP Sen. Luther Strange is starting to scrap with Rep. Mo Brooks, one of his most prominent Republican primary opponents, ahead of the special primary for Strange's seat on Aug. 15. The first shot: a mailer, paid for by Strange for Senate, hitting Brooks for not supporting President Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential primary and continuing to criticize him afterward. Brooks, Strange and former state Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore are the best-known candidates in a crowded primary, and they are competing for two slots in a September runoff, assuming no one unexpectedly breaks 50 percent in August.

- The Strange mailer quotes Brooks saying "Trump voters are going to regret their votes" on MSNBC in February and then, after Trump secured the nomination in May, that "voters sure are facing some tough choices in November, aren't they?" (In the same Montgomery Advertiser story, Brooks said he would vote for Trump in November.) "Luther Strange strongly supported our President from Day 1," the mailer trumpets next to the Brooks quotes, adding: "This was never a 'tough choice' for Luther Strange." (See the front and back of the mailer here.)

SENATE CANDIDATE WATCH - Morrisey announcement coming Monday night in West Virginia: Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has a 5 p.m. "major announcement" scheduled in Harpers Ferry "about his political plans." Morrisey already has a super PAC sparring with Rep. Evan Jenkins, the main Republican candidate currently in the race against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

- Barletta Senate decision "hopefully" coming in several weeks: GOP Rep. Lou Barletta said he's getting closer to deciding whether he'll run against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, in an interview for the "Face the State" program on CBS21 in Harrisburg. "I'm giving it serious thought. I've been talking to my family, I've been talking to folks around the state. And, hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, I'll have a decision whether I'm going to run or not," Barletta said, via John Micek on PennLive. Full story.

- "GOP state lawmaker planning bid for McCaskill seat," by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Kurt Erickson and Chuck Raasch: "GOP state Rep. Paul Curtman "is expected to announce the formation of an exploratory committee for a Senate run" this week. "... [A]llies said he had been mulling a run for Wagner's congressional seat, but nixed that idea when Wagner pulled out of the Senate sweepstakes and said she would run for re-election." Full story.

Q2 FUNDRAISING - FIRST IN SCORE - TX-07: Democrat Alex Triantaphyllis, the director of Immigration and Economic Opportunity at Neighborhood Centers Inc., a Houston nonprofit, raised more than $450,000 since entering the race to challenge GOP Rep. John Culberson. Triantaphyllis finished the second quarter with $400,000 in cash on hand, per a statement from his campaign.

- FL-13: SaintPetersBlog reported that Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist raised over $550,000 in the second quarter.

- KS-03: GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder raised close to $470,000 in the second quarter, his campaign announced Friday. Democrat Andrea Ramsey, who jumped into the race in June, announced raising over $200,000 by the end of the quarter.

- VA-10: Democrat Alison Kiehl Friedman raised over $400,000, while Democrat Lindsay Davis Stover raised over $300,000 in the second quarter, the Washington Post reported. They are part of the crowded Democratic field opposing GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock.

- South Carolina governor: "Republican Catherine Templeton ... raised $750,701 from April through June in her bid to upset S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster," The State's Jamie Self reports. "... The haul tops her first-quarter numbers, which just crested $700,000, and brings her total donations to more than $1.4 million - positioning her even more firmly as McMaster's biggest threat in next year's June primary. Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 120.

Days until the 2018 election: 484.

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: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

ALWAYS OPEN - "Rosen leaves House Democrats hunting for Nevada candidates again," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "Democrats had to beg candidates to run in Nevada's competitive 3rd District in 2016 - and that was before Donald Trump won the district on his way to the presidency. Now, Rep. Jacky Rosen's swift departure for a 2018 Senate campaign leaves House Democrats, once again, searching for a candidate who can appeal to Nevada's prototypical battleground district, which has flipped between parties four times in a decade." Full story.

PRIMARY PREP - "Coburn will work to oust Mullin after congressman breaks term limit pledge," by the Oklahoman's Justin Wingerter: "Rep. Markwayne Mullin is facing opposition from some conservatives after breaking a term limit pledge Tuesday. ... Whether Mullin's decision to break his pledge will hurt him in 2018 remains an open question. He dominated in 2016, defeating fellow Republican Jarrin Jackson in the June primary by 27 percentage points and defeating Democrat Joshua Harris-Till by 67 percentage points in November. [Former Sen. Tom] Coburn vowed this week to campaign for Jackson if he runs again in 2018." Full story.

REDISTRICTING WATCH - "Obama returns to politics with redistricting group fundraiser," by POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere: "Barack Obama will make the first official political move of his post-presidency on Thursday, headlining a private fundraiser for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee at a private home in Washington." Full story.

MILESTONE - CLF knocks on 1 million doors: The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with GOP House leadership, announced Monday that they've knocked on 1 million doors and placed 700,000 phone calls in 13 congressional districts over the last six months. CLF is operating a dozen field offices in districts across the country ahead of the 2018 midterms.

HOUSE CAMPAIGN KICKOFFS - MN-08: St. Louis County Commissioner Pete Stauber is set to become the first Republican to jump into the race against Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan, the Duluth News Tribune reports. "Stauber, 51, has served on the county board since 2013 and earlier was a member of the Hermantown City Council. He has been a Duluth police officer for more than 23 years, currently holding the rank of lieutenant." Nolan won reelection by a half point in 2016 as Trump carried the district by 15.

- MI-08: Democrat Elissa Slotkin, former acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, launched her campaign to challenge GOP Rep. Mike Bishop, per a statement on Monday.

- FL-27: Florida's first openly gay state representative, Democrat David Richardson, announced his bid for the now-vacant seat held by GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, per a statement from his campaign.

- FIRST IN SCORE - NC-02: Democrat Sam Searcy, a distillery owner, launched his bid to challenge GOP Rep. George Holding, who took out GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers in a redistricting primary battle last year. Watch his launch video here.

- VA-07: Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA operations officer, announced her bid to challenge Republican Rep. Dave Brat on Monday, per a statement from her campaign.

FEC WATCH - Good government groups file FEC complaint on Price: The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed a Federal Election Commission complaint on Friday alleging Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price illegally used campaign funds to support his confirmation. Read the complaint here.

- "Duncan spends campaign funds freely on family," by the Nashville Post's Cari Wade Gervin: "For U.S. Rep. John J. 'Jimmy' Duncan Jr., keeping it all in the family includes his campaign funds. Over the past decade Rep. Duncan has doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to his two sons, his niece, his son-in-law, his daughter-in-law and his sister for campaign work, raising both ethical and legal questions for the senior statesman. In fact, the only non-family member paid a regular salary for campaign work in recent years has been Duncan's chief of staff, Bob Griffitts ... since 2013, Rep. Duncan has paid his son $316,500 in salary alone. The campaign also pays for his son's cellphone
and reimburses his mileage, many meals and multiple other expenses." Full story.

STAFF TURNOVER - "Two top staffers leave Gillum campaign," by POLITICO Florida's Daniel Ducassi: "Following a series of rough news cycles and a fundraising drought, Democrat Andrew Gillum's 2018 campaign for governor announced on Friday the departure of two top campaign staffers. Stepping down are campaign manager Phillip Thompson and the campaign's finance director and deputy campaign manager, Brice Barnes, according to a statement describing the moves as 'staff transitions' and as part of the 'next phase' in the campaign." Full story.

COMMISSION REACTION - "Hundreds withdraw Colorado voter registrations in response to compliance with commission request," by KMGH's Blair Miller: "At least two Colorado county clerks say they've seen a large increase in the number of people who have withdrawn their state voter registration since Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said he would send the Trump administration's election integrity commission some voter-roll information in accordance with state law. Alton Dillard, a spokesperson for the Denver Elections Division, said 180 people have withdrawn their registration in the county since July 3. When compared to the eight people who withdrew their registration from June 26-29,
it marks a 2,150 percent increase, according to Dillard. Haley McKean, a spokeswoman with the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorders Office said at least 160 people had withdrawn their registrations since July 1. She added that 'dozens' of others had made their voter registration confidential." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The president once told me that the most important lesson he learned from Roy Cohn was loyalty." - Newsmax chief and Trump friend Christopher Ruddy, regarding Trump's long memory of Republicans who turned from him during the campaign in 2016, via POLITICO.

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