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By Elena Schneider | 12/02/2016 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard

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)

TIRED OF WAITING - "Becerra appointed California attorney general," by POLITICO's Carla Marinucci and Heather Caygle: "California Gov. Jerry Brown has named Rep. Xavier Becerra, the head of the House Democratic Caucus and a former state deputy attorney general, to serve as the state's next attorney general. The office will be vacated in January when Kamala Harris is sworn in as a U.S. senator. Becerra called it "an opportunity I cannot refuse," in his reply to Brown's surprise announcement on Twitter on Thursday morning. The move ends weeks of speculation about a possible appointment to fill the seat, which included a long list of dozens of potential appointees, including Brown's wife,
first lady Anne Gust Brown. Few had seen Becerra, who was first elected to the House in 1992, as a likely candidate." Full story.

- What's next ... "Becerra is now primed to be the public face of the Democratic resistance to Donald Trump on issues like climate change, health care and, most visibly, immigration. ... Becerra will be taking on a mirror-image version of the role that catapulted current Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to conservative stardom. As the attorney general of the nation's biggest red state during Barack Obama's presidency, Abbott filed more than two dozen lawsuits against the federal government, especially the Environmental Protection Agency. ... Becerra did not mention Trump in his statement accepting the nomination on Thursday, but said California is 'ahead of the country when it comes to clean energy,
commonsense treatment of immigrants, real health security and so much more.'" Full story.

- On deck ... "Rep. Xavier Becerra's appointment as state attorney general has set off intense jockeying for his safely Democratic, Los Angeles-based district. Full story.

WILL HE, WON'T HE - "Perez weighs runs for Maryland governor vs. DNC chairmanship," by POLITICO's Daniel Strauss and Kevin Robillard: "Labor Secretary Tom Perez is mulling two difficult - and very different - political paths as his time in the Obama administration winds down. Perez has long considered running for governor of Maryland in 2018. But he is also laying groundwork to seek a national party-building role as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And the time for a final decision is drawing near. Both paths are cluttered with obstacles, from popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland to the fleet of other ambitious Democrats eyeing the same roles as Perez. But they
are also ripe with opportunity for Perez, who was a contender to be Hillary Clinton's running mate this summer and has been tipped as a rising, if relatively low-profile, light in Democratic politics." Full story.

WILL HE, WON'T HE, PART II - "Heller won't rule out run for Nevada governor in 2018," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett: "Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), the top target for Senate Democrats in the 2018 midterms, isn't ruling out running for governor instead. In an interview Thursday, the senator said he enjoys his current job but indicated he's keeping his options open. The state's current governor, Republican Brian Sandoval, is termed out in two years. 'I like what I do, so I'll consider it but I like what I do,' Heller, a critical swing vote on matters such as immigration reform and extending unemployment benefits. Asked to elaborate, he responded: 'I'm not going to tell you what that means. I'm
happy with my job.'" Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 342.

Days until the 2018 election: 706.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we continue to tweet about politics and occasionally (frequently) about Gilmore Girls: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

DOING SOMETHING? SAY SOMETHING - Starting or joining a new consulting firm? Got work to tout from your current firm? Overhear some post-election gossip on the National Review cruise? Get in touch, and we'll get it in Score: tmeyer@politico.com or eschneider@politico.com.

LEADERSHIP RACE - "New York's Maloney eyeing DCCC chairmanship," by POLITICO's Heather Caygle: "New York Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney is eyeing a bid to lead House Democrats' campaign arm, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. If Maloney chooses to run, he'll take on current DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), who is seeking the post again. Maloney wouldn't confirm he was running in a brief interview with POLITICO Thursday evening, saying only that there might be news tonight. But rumors of his bid have been swirling since he spoke about the importance of the campaign committee during a morning caucus meeting on Thursday." Full story.

POLL LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW - Louisiana Senate poll finds Kennedy 52, Campbell 38: "Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy has a sizable lead over Democrat Foster Campbell in Louisiana's Senate runoff, according to a new poll from Southern Media & Opinion Research. Kennedy has the support of 52 percent of voters to Campbell's 38 percent. Another 10 percent are undecided. A majority of likely voters - 58 percent - have a favorable opinion of Kennedy, while just 35 percent have an unfavorable opinion. Campbell is viewed favorably by 46 percent of voters, and unfavorably by 45 percent." Full story.

CABINET COURTING CONTINUES - Trump, Pence to meet with Dem Senator Heitkamp Friday, per POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum: "Donald Trump and Mike Pence will meet with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) at Trump Tower in New York on Friday, the transition announced today. Heitkamp, who faces a tough re-election fight in a deeply conservative state in 2018, will be one of a handful of elected Democrats to have made the pilgrimage to Trump Tower to meet with the president-elect. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) are among those who have so far. Heitkamp said in a statement from her Senate office that she hopes to work with Trump to 'best support' North Dakota." Full story.

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "James Mattis, Outspoken Ex-Marine, Is Trump's Choice as Defense Secretary," by The New York Times' Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt: "President-elect Donald J. Trump said on Thursday he had chosen James N. Mattis, a hard-charging retired general who led a Marine division to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, to serve as his secretary of defense. Mr. Trump made the announcement at a rally in Cincinnati, calling General Mattis 'the closest thing we have to Gen. George Patton.' General Mattis, 66, led the United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, from 2010 to 2013. His tour there was cut short by
the Obama administration, which believed that he was too hawkish on Iran. But his insistence that Iran is the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East, as well as his acerbic criticism of the Obama administration's initial efforts to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, made him an attractive choice for the incoming president, whom he met for the first time after Mr. Trump's election." Full story.

- "Senators clamor for Corker as secretary of state," by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim and Austin Wright: "In Donald Trump's wild, real-life audition for his secretary of state, there's been no shortage of warning flags for the senators who'd have to confirm his eventual pick - be it Rudy Giuliani's business dealings with foreign governments, David Petraeus' fumble with classified information or John Bolton's ultra-hawkish views. But there's one choice that could put an end to Trump's made-for-TV drama and ultimately breeze through the Senate: Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, whose fans include not only fellow Republicans but Democrats who'd happily vote to confirm him. 'I think he would be a great
pick,' said Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has been a major critic of Giuliani and former U.S. ambassador Bolton. ...Democrats were nearly as enthusiastic." Full story.

- "Trump sells his presidential skills," by POLITICO's Eli Stokols: "The 22nd day of Donald Trump's presidential transition brought something new: an infomercial for his deal-making skills. And the president-elect didn't pay a dime for it. As he fills his Cabinet with Wall Street billionaires and millionaires, Trump burnished his image as a champion of the working class when he touched down in the Rust Belt on Thursday for his first public appearance since his election night victory speech. It marked the first stop on what will be a two-week victory tour that allows the president-elect to celebrate his shocking victory in last month's election and bask in the embrace of his supporters more
than three weeks after his last campaign rally. After his appearance in Indianapolis, he was headed to Cincinnati for an event expected to draw thousands of supporters. But the self-celebratory aspect of Trump's victory lap - ostensibly billed as a 'thank you tour' - was his victory with Carrier, more a political and symbolic success for the president than the economic turnaround it's being cast as." Full story.

- "Clinton and Trump strategists still throwing punches," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher and Gabriel Debenedetti: "Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's top strategists sat 15 feet apart from one another on Thursday - and it was clear the anger and raw feelings that defined the general election haven't faded. The ugliest presidential campaign in modern American history continued through a raucous post-mortem at Harvard University, where strategists gather every four years to chew over the recently completed contest from an insiders' vantage point. The scene on Thursday was fraught, from the moment the top campaigns' top officials sat down across the room from each other. There were
interruptions, accusations and plenty of crosstalk for more than two, tense hours." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We probably would've won." - Bernie Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver, via POLITICO.

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