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<p>By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com) <br />
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<strong>FIRST IN SCORE -- A BOONE TO NORTON</strong>: Former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton is getting a late assist over the telephone lines from country music legend Pat Boone, in the form of a robo-call touting her conservative and senior-friendly credentials. “Hello, my friend, this is Pat Boone,” the recorded message begins. “Yeah, that Pat Boone, the 'Love Letters in the Sand' guy.” The familiar voice of the singer-turned 60 Plus Association spokesman continues: “I'm still singing in concerts, but today ... I'm singing the praises of Jane Norton. We need strong leaders in the U.S. Senate like Jane Norton, who will fight for lower taxes, a return to the Constitution and an end to the runaway spending that's bankrupting our country. ... Jane Norton understands that Obamacare severely hurts seniors by cutting $500 billion out of Medicare.” Listen to the call here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cebUJd">http://bit.ly/cebUJd</a> <br />
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As Sarah Palin's candidates struggle, Neil Abercombie gets Nancy Pelosi's backup and Bob Vander Plaats ends the suspense, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections. <br />
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<strong>FRIDAY STANDINGS -- ARE YOU BETTER OFF NOW?</strong> There's a little more than 12 weeks -- 88 days -- left before Election Day. Here's Morning Score's weekly look at how some of the top campaigns, groups and other midterm election actors should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were seven days ago? <br />
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<strong>YES</strong>: (1) The NRCC, which bet heavily on Tennessee congressional candidate Stephen Fincher and got their man out of last night's brutal 8th District primary; (2) GOP ad maestro Fred Davis, whose commercials helped propel former Gateway CEO Rick Snyder and Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam to the Republican gubernatorial nominations in Michigan and Tennessee, respectively; (3) The FMAP bill, which Democrats in both chambers of Congress have already begun using to frame Republicans as anti-teacher and anti-firefighter (See Exhibit A from the DNC here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cIjz4P">http://bit.ly/cIjz4P</a> ) <br />
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<strong>NO:</strong> (1) House members looking to move up, after both Michigan Rep. Pete Hoekstra and Tennessee Rep. Zach Wamp sputtered to second place in their gubernatorial primary bids; (2) Independent tea party candidates, who are increasingly under scrutiny as possible Democratic plants after contenders in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and elsewhere were linked to liberal-leaning operatives; (3) Sarah Palin, whose endorsees fell short in the Kansas GOP Senate primary and the House primary for Tennessee's 5th District, and whose support for obscure Maryland gubernatorial candidate Brian Murphy looks decidedly unserious. <br />
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<strong>LAST NIGHT IN TENNESSEE -- RESULTS TICKER</strong>: Bill Haslam easily won the Republican nomination for governor, taking 48 percent of the vote to Zach Wamp's 29 percent and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey's 22 percent ... NRCC-backed farmer Stephen Fincher crushed self-funders Ron Kirkland and George Flinn in the 8th District primary, winning 49 percent of the vote to face Democratic state Sen. Roy Herron in the general election ... Mike Huckabee-backed attorney Chuck Fleischmann bested Club for Growth-backed former state GOP Chairwoman Robin Smith for the Republican nod in Wamp's old district ... State Sen. Diane Black will be the Republican candidate for retiring Democratic Rep. Bart Gordon's 6th District seat .... Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen defeated primary challenger Willie Herenton, the former Memphis mayor, by about 57 percentage points ... FULL RESULTS and maps at <a target="_blank" href="http://politico.com/2010 ">politico.com/2010</a> ... <br />
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<strong>IN THE BLOODY 8TH -- THE GENERAL BEGINS</strong>: The air wars have already begun in the race for retiring Tennessee Rep. John Tanner's seat, as Democrat Roy Herron airs an ad designed to shore up his conservative credentials and the senior-oriented 60 Plus Association starts tying the Democratic nominee to his party in Washington. Herron's spot is a classic of the Southern Democratic genre, featuring the candidate calling himself as a “truck-driving, shotgun-shooting, Bible-reading, gospel-preaching, tax-paying, crime-fighting, family-loving country boy.” He continues: “If you let me, I'll be your waste-cutting, job-creating congressman.” Watch it here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9PssAY">http://bit.ly/9PssAY</a> <br />
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The 60 Plus Association ad tells a different story, showing older voters warning: “Career politician Roy Herron wants to help continue Nancy Pelosi's agenda.” A female doctor adds: “It's no surprise - Herron supported a government-run health care program here that nearly bankrupted our state.” Watch it here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/a47w6c">http://bit.ly/a47w6c</a> <br />
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<strong>LOOKING AHEAD -- A BIG-PICTURE WEEK</strong>: There have been many primaries over the last two months -- good, solid, competitive primaries -- but it's been since the South Carolina runoff on June 22 that we've had a sweeping, conversation-driving, cycle-defining contest to watch. All of that changes next week, when Colorado voters in both parties choose a Senate candidate and Georgia Republicans choose a nominee. <br />
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<strong>IN GEORGIA</strong>: The runoff for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination has turned into a proxy war among a host of possible 2012 candidates, with Mike Huckabee becoming the latest to endorse when he lined up with former Rep. Nathan Deal's campaign. Citing his past work with Deal on state-versus-federal government issues, Huckabee explained his decision: “Nathan is battle tested - and that's what Georgia needs now more than ever.” The endorsement puts him in the same camp as Newt Gingrich, and sets the former Arkansas governor in opposition to Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, who have both backed former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. Palin is due to campaign in the state Monday. <a href="http://politi.co/at7UyA">http://politi.co/at7UyA</a> </p><p><strong>AND IN COLORADO</strong>: Supporters of former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff's Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet are framing the race as a Lincoln-versus-Halter-esque referendum on the direction of the party. “It's what kind of Democratic Party do you want,” Romanoff adviser Joe Trippi told Score. “This is a Democratic Party primary and Democrats have to decide: do they want a guy who made $11 million in corporate takeovers and who takes Wall Street money, bank money, oil money … versus somebody who's not taking that money and gonna take them on.” The GOP contest between Norton and Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck has long been described as a battle between the Washington and Colorado establishment and tea party-oriented activist conservatives. <br />
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<strong>PLUS -- NYT DROPS THE HAMMER</strong>: The paper of record has published a damaging, detailed story on a financial decision Bennet pushed as superintendent as Denver schools, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars through “an exotic transaction” with JP Morgan Chase. The result? “Since it struck the deal, the school system has paid $115 million in interest and other fees, at least $25 million more than it originally anticipated.” <a target="_blank" href="http://nyti.ms/cv8cII">http://nyti.ms/cv8cII</a> <br />
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<strong>BUT FIRST -- TODAY</strong>: Iowa conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats is holding a press conference this morning to announce his plans for the fall election, as the deadline approaches for him to decide on a possible independent candidacy. From the Des Moines Register: “Vander Plaats, the second-place finisher in the June 8 primary, has been publicly silent for the past 40 days, since losing the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor at the June 26 state convention. In the weeks since the convention, Vander Plaats has not endorsed GOP nominee Terry Branstad nor ruled out a bid for governor as a third-party or independent candidate. Third-party candidates have until Friday, Aug. 13, to file nominating petitions with the Iowa secretary of state's office to be on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/dcRP45">http://bit.ly/dcRP45</a> <br />
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<strong>2010 TALKER -- TARGET APOLOGIZES</strong>: The retail giant's chief executive issued an apology after sending a $150,000 donation to the conservative group MN Forward, which is putting independent muscle behind Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer's campaign for governor. Target drew vigorous criticism due to Emmer's stance on gay rights, and CEO Gregg Steinhafel responded with a contrite message: "While I firmly believe that a business climate conducive to growth is critical to our future, I realize our decision affected many of you in a way I did not anticipate, and for that I am genuinely sorry. ... The diversity of our team is an important aspect of our unique culture and our success as a company, and we did not mean to disappoint you, our team or our valued guests." <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bDAO1X">http://bit.ly/bDAO1X</a> <br />
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<strong>POLL OF THE DAY -- STILL IN THE GAME?</strong> Florida's self-funding candidates may not have run away with their parties' nominations yet, according to a new Mason-Dixon poll that shows Rep. Kendrick Meek leading the Democratic primary for Senate and state Attorney General Bill McCollum within single digits of former health care executive Rick Scott in the GOP primary for governor. A week ago, Quinnipiac showed billionaire Jeff Greene defeating Meek by a double-digit margin; now, Mason-Dixon gives Meek a four-point lead. In the governor's race, McCollum places just six points behind Scott, trailing 31 percent to 37 percent, rather than the 16 points that other polls showed as recently as the start of this week. The St. Petersburg Times quotes pollster Brad Coker: “Hispanic Republicans favor McCollum over Scott by a 3-1 margin, which now is keeping McCollum in the race.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/cSbMoa">http://bit.ly/cSbMoa</a> <br />
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<strong>YOUR MOVE, MANCHIN</strong>: West Virginia Senate candidate John Raese, the leading Republican running for the late Sen. Robert Byrd's seat, is already out with a television ad describing himself as a “conservative businessman” and attempting to frame the race against popular Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin as a referendum on the Obama administration. Raese says in the commercial that he wants to “stop deficit spending, stop higher taxes, repeal Obamacare and allow states the freedom to protect their citizens.” Watch it here. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9RPyEE">http://bit.ly/9RPyEE</a> <br />
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<strong>ACROSS THE BIG MAP</strong> -- with POLITICO's Tim Alberta: <br />
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-- Segal gets SEIU. Rhode Island state Rep. David Segal won the support of SEIU District 1199NE in the Democratic primary for outgoing Rep. Patrick Kennedy's district, giving the progressive Dem a boost in the primary field led by Providence Mayor David Cicilline. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9j5xUW">http://bit.ly/9j5xUW</a> <br />
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-- Hurt unites the clans. Former Virginia congressional candidate Jim McKelvey, who lost the GOP nomination in the 5th Congressional District to state Sen. Robert Hurt, has finally endorsed Hurt's general election campaign against Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello. “I am convinced that Robert Hurt is best positioned to remove Tom Perriello,” McKelvey wrote in an e-mail to supporters Thursday, becoming the last former Hurt opponent to back his campaign. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9KfSWq">http://bit.ly/9KfSWq</a> <br />
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-- Gunning for Pearce. The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund has placed a $125,000 broadcast buy in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District, to run an attack ad against former Republican Rep. Steve Pearce. The 30-second ad brands Pearce, who is seeking a comeback against Democratic Rep. Harry Teague, as “one of the most corrupt members of Congress.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/95Hl3p">http://bit.ly/95Hl3p</a> ; Watch the ad. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/9NHSFU">http://bit.ly/9NHSFU</a> <br />
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-- Abercrombie's backup. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to the defense of her former colleague Neil Abercrombie, whose opponent in Hawaii's Democratic gubernatorial primary ran a radio ad attacking Abercrombie's attendance record in Congress. The speaker released a statement rebutting Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann's criticism, calling Abercrombie an “effective and courageous leader” who will make “an outstanding governor.” <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/aONvCF">http://bit.ly/aONvCF</a> <br />
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-- Hickenlooper's running mate. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper filled out the Democratic gubernatorial ticket Thursday, picking Colorado State University, Pueblo, president Joseph Garcia as his candidate for lieutenant governor. Hickenlooper praised Garcia's “record of ... non-partisan, collaborative leadership”; the decision means Democrats will have a Latino candidate for statewide office in a general election featuring Tom Tancredo. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/bTJDNC">http://bit.ly/bTJDNC</a> <br />
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-- Entenza attacks -- Kelliher? Former Minnesota state Rep. Matt Entenza, running third in the DFL primary behind former Sen. Mark Dayton and state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, is closing with an ad that focuses on education -- and slams Kelliher for supporting the No Child Left Behind law. “Matt Entenza is the only candidate for governor that will scrap No Child Left Behind,” the narrator says. Watch the ad. <a target="_blank" href="http://bit.ly/czFk26">http://bit.ly/czFk26</a> </p><br>
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