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By Kevin Robillard | 07/19/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Daniel Strauss, Zach Montellaro

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)

SOURCES SAY HAWLEY'S IN - National Republicans' top recruiting target in Missouri appears ready to enter the state's Senate race against Democrat Claire McCaskill. Two Republicans - one in the Show-Me State, the other a national operative - told Campaign Pro they heard from Hawley associates he plans to run. Jane Cunningham, a former state senator from the St. Louis suburbs who signed a letter urging Hawley to run, was a bit more circumspect, but also very confident: "Based on good authority, I have every confidence that Josh Hawley is going to run for U.S. Senate," she said.

- National Republicans have put a lot of stock in Hawley. Donors essentially froze Rep. Ann Wagner out of the race, and Republicans have said Hawley and Florida Gov. Rick Scott's decisions could make the difference between a poor 2018 recruiting class or a great one. But the GOP has been burned by recruits in recent months, with both Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke and Attorney General Tim Fox saying they were in - until they suddenly weren't. So don't expect any GOP celebrations just yet. Newsmax reported Monday that Hawley would "start an exploratory committee for the race in a few days and make a formal announcement in September."

- OnMessage's Brad Todd will be Hawley's consultant, as he was for Hawley's attorney general run, one of the Republicans said.

COLORADO CLASH - "Energy industry, environmentalists set for showdown in Colorado governor's race," by Elena Schneider: "After years of détente enforced by moderate Democrats like Gov. John Hickenlooper, a geologist who has brokered compromises between his party and his old industry (and once testified about drinking fracking fluid to convince the public that it was safe), two of the leading Democratic candidates to replace Hickenlooper in 2018 are calling for the Colorado to go all-renewable energy by 2040. One of them, millionaire Rep. Jared Polis , has helped finance ballot initiatives that would restrict fracking, raising hopes among frustrated environmentalists - but also
sparking industry fears of disruption. ... Another Democrat who has worked on Colorado energy issues put it more bluntly: 'Oil and gas people are talking fairly openly about it - the industry would do whatever they need to do to stop Polis from becoming governor. They'll spend millions, a gazillion dollars on this.'" Full story.

ROLL TIDE - "Brooks looks to House conservatives for traction in Alabama Senate race," by Daniel Strauss: "Strange has quickly emerged as an ally of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and enjoys strong support from McConnell-aligned groups, which have prioritized boosting his special election campaign. Fellow Republican Sen. Richard Shelby has also headlined fundraisers for Strange's reelect and promised to help his fellow senator win the special election. Brooks ... has less firepower on his side, but Brooks has benefited from increasing support from fellow colleagues in the House. He's already been endorsed by Rep. Mike Rogers, and House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows has both
helped Brooks raise money and defended him against an attack ad by the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. ... Brooks continues to woo support from House colleagues, saying he plans to roll out another lawmaker endorsement in the next week - though he refused to name names - and is chasing another supporter from inside the conference. 'The House frustration with the Senate is palpable,' Brooks added." Full story.

HEALTH CARE HAVOC - Senate Conservatives Fund promises to recruit conservative challengers to Republicans who oppose Obamacare repeal: "Republicans have promised to repeal Obamacare for years and now with President Trump in the White House, there is no excuse for them to break their promise," SCF President Ken Cuccinelli said. "Working with the grassroots across the country, we will seek to identify, recruit, and fund conservative challengers against Republican senators who vote against repeal. If they won't keep their word and if they can't find the courage to repeal a liberal takeover of our health care system that has hurt so many American families, they should be replaced by someone who
will."

- Establishment Republicans quickly mocked SCF's stance. The group only has less than $400,000 on hand and OpenSecrets has them spending under $1 million on independent expenditures last cycle.

Days until the 2017 election: 111.

Days until the 2018 election: 475.

Thanks for joining us. You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

2018 WATCH - "Maya Rockeymoore, wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings, weighs run for Md. governor," by the Washington Post's Josh Hicks and Ovetta Wiggins: "Maya Rockeymoore, a policy consultant who is married to longtime U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), is weighing a run for Maryland governor in 2018, according to people who have discussed the matter with her. Rockeymoore, 46, recently told a state lawmaker from Baltimore that she might enter the race and has considered commissioning a poll to gauge her chances of success. She would be the first woman to join what is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary field that includes five declared candidates. ... Rockeymoore ... is president and
chief executive officer at Global Policy Solutions, a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm." Full story.

- "Businessman, vet John James files for U.S. Senate," by The Detroit News' Jonathan Oosting: "Detroit businessman and Iraq war veteran John James is filing to run for U.S. Senate, launching what he is calling an 'exploratory committee' to gear up for the 2018 Republican primary. ... The 36-year-old Farmington Hills resident and self-described 'conservative Republican' is the latest entrant in an increasingly diverse GOP field seeking to take on third-term Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Lansing. ... A group of Metro Detroit business leaders began courting James for a Senate run this spring, and a group called the National Security and Opportunity Fund has run online ads encouraging a
candidate with combat and job creation-experience to join the race." Full story. Watch his announcement video here.

DEMS JUMP INTO LONG-SHOT OPEN HOUSE SEATS - Soderberg launches in FL-06: Nancy Soderberg, a former National Security Council staffed and ambassador at the United Nations who now teaches at the University of North Florida, is running for GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis ' 6th District seat, per a press release. DeSantis is considering runs for governor or attorney general.

- Huntington mayor jumps into WV-03: Steve Williams, the Democratic mayor of Huntington, West Virginia, is launching a campaign in the state's 3rd District, which is held by GOP Rep. Evan Jenkins. Jenkins is running for Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin's seat and previously captured WV-03 from Democrats in 2014.

- Dem veteran announces in NY-27: Erin Cole, a Democratic businesswoman and veteran, is joining the race against GOP Rep. Chris Collins , whom Gov. Andrew Cuomo has singled out for criticism on health care in recent weeks (but who represents a heavily Republican district in Western New York).

CASH CRUNCH - Wisconsin Democrats have just $36,000 on hand: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has about $36,500 on hand after raising over $500,000 in the first half of the year, according to a campaign finance filing shared with Campaign Pro. By comparison, the Wisconsin GOP said last week they had $1.7 million in their state account.

VOTING WATCH - "Thousands of Democrats, hundreds of Republicans among Coloradans who canceled their registrations after Trump administration request," by the Denver Post's Jesse Paul: "The Colorado Secretary of State's Office reported Monday that of the 3,738 people who withdrew their registrations between June 28 and Friday, 367 are Republicans and 1,255 are unaffiliated voters. Just over 2,000 Democrats have also canceled their registrations. The cancellations are just a minuscule fraction of the state's 3.7 million registered voters." Full story.

- "Former Clinton and Romney campaign chiefs join forces to fight election hacking," by The Washington Post's Ellen Nakashima: "Robby Mook, Clinton's 2016 campaign chief, and Matt Rhoades, who managed the 2012 run of GOP nominee Romney, are heading up the project at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in one of the first major efforts outside government to grapple with 21st century hacking and propaganda operations - and ways to deter them. ... The bipartisan project aims to develop ways to share key threat information with political campaigns and state and local election offices; create 'playbooks' for election officials to improve
cybersecurity; and forge strategies for the United States to deter adversaries from engaging in hacks and information operations, among other things." Full story.

- "After 2016 Hack, House Democratic Committee Switches To Encrypted Messaging," by BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer: "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the target of last year's sweeping cyberattack on House Democrats, has transitioned to Wickr, an end-to-end encrypted software, for all internal communication and for communication between the DCCC and the 20 most vulnerable House incumbent campaigns. The software, installed in June to guard against future hacks, now serves as the primary chat and message function inside the DCCC, said communications director Meredith Kelly." Full story.

STAFFING UP - Kander campaign manager Rakov joins Ebersol's production company: Former Jason Kander campaign manager Abe Rakov is joining producer Charlie Ebersol's The Company to launch a political advertising division. Rakov will continue to serve as executive director of Let America Vote while starting work as senior vice president for campaigns at The Company. "Charlie and his team have proven themselves to be excellent storytellers working with some of the biggest names in entertainment and sports," Rakov said. "With their experience in producing hit TV shows, documentaries and films, The Company brings creative and production resources not usually available to most campaigns and I'm
eager to leverage those assets to help candidates tell their stories."

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Trump Properties Are Already Profiting Off Republican Campaigns," by BuzzFeed's Tarini Parti and Jeremy Singer-Vine: "BuzzFeed News has identified at least $293,000 in spending from Republican campaigns and committees on Trump businesses after Trump was elected to the White House. The bulk of the spending was from Trump's re-election campaign, but other Republican committees shelled out about $72,000, based on FEC data made public this week. The spending from House Republicans and party committees appears to be mostly for fundraisers held at Trump properties. ... In the first half of last year, the same businesses received just under $100,000 from campaigns.
Nearly all of that money came from Trump's presidential campaign." Full story.

- "Eighth man in Trump Tower meeting was linked to money laundering," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Darren Samuelsohn: "The eighth named attendee at a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between top Trump associates and a politically-connected Russian lawyer is a business associate of a top Moscow oligarch and was once identified as a key figure in a Congressional money laundering probe. Irakly Kaveladze, until now the mysterious "eighth man" in the room, attended the meeting on behalf of Aras Agalarov, a billionaire real estate magnate with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and who befriended the Trump family. A lawyer for Agalarov has confirmed Kaveladze's attendance to other news
outlets, though he did not respond to requests for comment from POLITICO." Full story.

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