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12/12/2018 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
IT NEVER ENDS IN NC-09 - Add a fresh misconduct allegation to the pile in NC-09, where calls for a new election are increasing. The much aligned-Bladen County is facing another scandal, with top Republican officials calling for a new election after a signed affidavit from a poll worker said that early vote totals were leaked in the race between Democrat Dan McCready and Republican Mark Harris.

"On Saturday, 11/3/18, the last day of early voting, the 'tape' showing election results at the one-stop polling site was run after the polls closed, and was viewed by officials at the one-stop site who were not judges. It is my understanding that this was improper," wrote Agnes Willis, a precinct worker in the state, in an affidavit dated Nov. 29, according to The Charlotte Observer.

The state Republican party's top brass said another election should be held if that allegation is true. Dallas Woodhouse, the executive director of the state Republican party, said it was likely early votes were leaked. "We're almost sure those early vote totals were leaked out," Woodhouse told me. "That's where we are. The [state elections] board's got to do whatever it does."

In a Tuesday press conference, Woodhouse also said North Carolina's board of elections needs to take over any special election. And he defended Harris from the previous election fraud allegations about an independent contractor working for Harris' campaign, saying "we have seen nothing that makes us think Mark Harris participated or would condone this behavior." He declined to answer a question on whether there should be a new primary.

The state Democratic Party is also supportive of a new general election and has called for a thorough investigation. "Mark Harris must answer to the voters about what he knew and when he knew it," North Carolina Democratic Party chair Wayne Goodwin said in a press conference of his own.

- Another signed affidavit from Kenneth Simmons, a local resident, said that McCrae Dowless, the independent contractor, told him that he had 800 absentee ballots in his possession, WECT's Chelsea Donovan and Emily Featherston reported.

Good Wednesday morning. 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: 328

Days until the 2020 election: 692
IN THE TRENCHES
SUPER PAC ATTACK - Will Democratic primary hopefuls move to disavow super PACs in the primaries? The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher: "The choice will represent one of the earliest and potentially more consequential crossroads of the nascent primary, and has been the subject of fierce debate within the inner circles of some candidates. Is it worth giving up possible seven-figure checks for the chance to campaign more effectively as the candidate of the little guy? Or, put another way, can a Democrat risk embracing unlimited money in an era when small donors and the party's seemingly ascendant left wing may pummel PAC-backed candidates as allies of the rich? 'Every Democrat should approach
the idea of a super PAC in the primary with caution,' said Robby Mook, who served as the 2016 campaign manager for Hillary Clinton. 'They are a liability as much as a strength.'"

PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - Add Democrat Andrew Gillum to the list of potential candidates getting 2020 hype. POLITICO Marc Caputo and Alex Thompson: "Gillum has hit the Democratic speaking circuit across the nation, urging the party to stay the course on social justice and taking private meetings with top party officials - among them, former President Barack Obama. ...

"Aides and supporters say Gillum is not completely sure about his next steps, but he may head up a political group or movement that focuses on voting rights. His spokeswoman, Kirsten Allen, said he wants to stay true to his campaign and to Florida, the nation's largest swing state."

PELOSI'S TIME - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is close to a deal with the rebels in her caucus that would clear the path for her to retake the speaker's gavel. POLITICO's Heather Caygle, Rachael Bade and John Bresnahan: "The California Democrat and some of her fiercest party critics have tentatively agreed to limit her speakership to four years at most, these sources said. In return, several lawmakers who had vowed publicly to vote against Pelosi on the House floor in a critical Jan. 3 roll call, will instead back her ascent to the position she held eight years ago. While the agreement was still being finalized Tuesday night, it could be unveiled as early as Wednesday morning. Both
sides were haggling about the rollout of the deal rather than the substance of the terms, these sources said."

- Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), one of the leaders of the anti-Pelosi movement, may draw a 2020 primary challenge from state Sen. Barbara L'Italien, WYCN's Alison King reported.

THE DEMOCRATIC BASE - With all the "it's still VERY early" and "it's just a straw poll" caveats attached ... Rep. Beto O'Rourke led a straw poll of MoveOn.org members. NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald: "The poll, obtained by NBC News, shows a plurality of respondents - 29 percent - either said they did not yet know whom they would support or wanted someone else not listed among the group's more than 30 potential candidate choices. The most popular potential candidate was O'Rourke, D-Texas, who was selected by 15.6 percent of respondents, followed by [former vice President Joe] Biden at 14.9 percent, and then Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with 13.1 percent."

MONEY MONEY MONEY - The DNC got an early start on wooing 2020 donors with a meeting of its finance committee. POLITICO's Maggie Severns and Alex Thompson: "Their pitch: The committee will need unprecedented funds to take on President Donald Trump. ... In addition to flashy speeches, donors on Tuesday listened to hours of strategy talks about data, field programs and opposition research. Operatives warned of the size and power of the Republican Party, which runs a large field operation and a centralized voter data system. ... And they boasted of the research into Trump they've been accumulating since 2015, which they'll deploy on behalf of the 2020 nominee."

SYSTEM SHOCK - After a historic election, top California Democratic party staffers were shown the door. POLITICO California's Carla Marinucci: "Less than a month after its chairman resigned in the wake of sexual harassment allegations, the California Democratic Party has again been roiled by internal strife - this time, the abrupt firing of seven of the party's top officials and the shuttering of its Los Angeles office by the acting chairwoman, Alexandra Gallardo-Rooker. ... The news came as a shock to many Democratic activists in the party".

WHAT HAPPENED? - RNC chief Ronna McDaniel promised the party would dig into the GOP's losses in the midterms. "Of course, we have to look at why we're losing with women," McDaniel said at POLITICO's Women Rule Summit. "I'm a woman. I want to know that, too. I don't think we're a monolithic group. I don't like that." POLITICO's Matthew Choi noted that she "didn't specify a timeline for the party soul-searching effort or if the results would be made public. But she did say the results would be shared with GOP leaders and candidates to consolidate the party's resources."

THE NEVER-TRUMP WING - Recently re-elected Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan criticized the president at a conference, without mentioning his name. The Washington Post's Ovetta Wiggins and David Weigel: "He cited GOP losses in the midterm elections as evidence that the current national Republican model was failing. And the audience of about 100 right-leaning writers and academics clearly agreed with him. ... Hogan told reporters Tuesday that he has stood up to the Trump administration 'numerous times - I would say more so than any Republican governor in America.'"

STAFFING UP - Corry Bliss, who was the executive director for CLF and AAN for the midterms, joined FP1 Strategies as a partner.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It goes to show you: you get into a tinkle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on the wild televised Oval Office "negotiations," via POLITICO's Rachael Bade.

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