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By Zach Montellaro | 08/15/2018 10:00 AM EDT


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)

Another primary night, another round of general election matchups set. In Wisconsin, state education superintendent Tony Evers comfortably won the Democratic gubernatorial primary for the right to face GOP Gov. Scott Walker. The 66-year-old Evers, who consistently led in primary polling, stands out in a year that has seen young, female and first-time candidates charge ahead in Democratic primaries, but he is well-known and has sparred with Walker on education policy. (A former state party chair told my colleague Daniel Strauss that "if there's a rub on Tony Evers, it might be that he's too nice" in the runup to the primary). The state Republican Party immediately went up with a $500,000
television ad hitting Evers for a past scandal that involved a teacher making inappropriate comments about students (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Daniel Bice has more on the situation, based on a 2017 ad on the same theme).

Elsewhere on the ticket, Republicans backed state Sen. Leah Vukmir for Senate, dispatching businessman Kevin Nicholson and the millions of dollars that Richard Uihlein poured into outside groups to back him. She'll face incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who had no primary opponent. Check out my deskmate James Arkin's story from July on why, despite many Washington strategists not considering it a top-tier race, Baldwin wants Democrats to know she can lose.

In Minnesota, Jeff Johnson won the GOP gubernatorial nod, ending the comeback bid by former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. On the DFL side, Rep. Tim Walz won his party's nomination.

Also in Minnesota, Rep. Keith Ellison secured the Democratic nomination for attorney general, just days after the family of an ex-girlfriend accused him of abusing her (which Ellison has denied). The Democratic National Committee said Tuesday that it is "reviewing" the allegations against Ellison and that "all allegations of domestic abuse are disturbing and should be taken seriously," NPR's Domenico Montanaro reported. Ellson is the party's deputy chair.

- In Connecticut, Bob Stefanowski won the Republican nomination for governor. He will face Democrat Ned Lamont, 12 years after Lamont shot to political stardom by defeating Sen. Joe Lieberman in a Democratic primary and then losing the general election to Lieberman, who was running as an independent at that point.

- In Vermont, Christine Hallquist won the Democratic gubernatorial nod, becoming the first transgender candidate to secure a major-party gubernatorial nomination in America. She will face incumbent GOP Gov. Phil Scott.

A House roundup:

- CT-05: Jahana Hayes beat out Mary Glassman for the Democratic nomination, which comes as a bit of a surprise as Glassman won the state party's endorsement. The seat is expected to remain in Democratic hands after Rep. Elizabeth Esty opted to not seek reelection after reports that she mishandled sexual harassment allegations against her former chief of staff.

- WI-01: Randy Bryce beat Cathy Myers for the Democratic nomination in Speaker Paul Ryan's district. He'll face Bryan Steil, a former Ryan aide, who only had nominal opposition in his GOP primary.

- MN-01: Jim Hagedorn won the Republican nomination and will face Democrat Dan Feehan. Walz gave up this seat for his gubernatorial run.

- MN-08: Joe Radinovich won the DFL nomination and will face Republican Pete Stauber in the general election. Democratic Rep. Rick Nolan opted not to run to make an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor.

See the full results from Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

KOBACH WINS IN KANSAS - The Trump-endorsed Kris Kobach locked up the Kansas GOP gubernatorial primary after incumbent Gov. Jeff Colyer conceded Tuesday night, a week after the election. More from me: "'This election is probably the closest in America,' Colyer said in brief remarks Tuesday evening. 'But the numbers are just not there, unless we were to go to extraordinary measures. But Kansas is too important.' Kobach stretched his narrow primary lead to 345 votes as late ballots were tallied for a week after the August 7 primary. Colyer pledged to not challenge the results in court or ask for a recount. He endorsed Kobach during his remarks."

Good Wednesday morning. Our thoughts are with former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who announced that his cancer has returned. As always, you can email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the great Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @ec_schneider, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @MaggieSeverns.

What is it really like for women hitting the campaign trail in 2018? Beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 15, Women Rule's three-part podcast series entitled "Women Rule: Tracking the candidates," will focus on the gritty realities of running for office. Tune in for the next three Wednesdays in August to hear from three women running for office, the challenges and opportunities they face and the lessons other women can take from their campaigns.

Days until the 2018 election: 83.

Upcoming election dates - Aug. 21: Alaska, Wyoming primaries. - Aug. 28: Arizona, Florida primaries and Oklahoma primary runoffs. - Sept. 4: Massachusetts primaries. - Sept. 6: Delaware primaries. - Sept. 11: New Hampshire primaries. - Sept. 12: Rhode Island primaries. - Sept. 13: New York (state-level) primaries.

POLLS POLLS POLLS - GOP Rep. Tom MacArthur is caught in a tight battle with Democrat Andy Kim in a new Monmouth University poll in NJ-03. Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "MacArthur has 41 percent to Kim's 40 percent among all potential voters in the survey of New Jersey's 3rd District - which includes registered voters who participated in an election since 2010 or have newly registered to vote. Another 15 percent of voters said they are undecided. Kim does slightly better in two different turnout models. Under a historical model based on turnout in past midterms, Kim takes 45 percent support and MacArthur gets 44 percent. Under a turnout scenario modeling for Democratic surges in
participation, Kim has 46 percent to MacArthur's 43 percent."

ON THE AIRWAVES - The Congressional Leadership Fund, the outside group associated with House Republican leadership, went up with three new television ads that outline parts of the battlefield and the GOP message in the last 80-plus days of the campaign. In NY-22, their ad calls Democrat Anthony Brindisi a "tax and spend rubber stamp" and tries to tie him to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The CA-25 ad hits Democrat Katie Hill over the state's gas tax. Lastly, in CA-45 the ad goes after Democrat Katie Porter over the taxes and immigration.

JUST IN CASE - Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has had to fend off a livelier than expected challenge from Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke. And while the Senate Leadership Fund hasn't spent in the Lone Star State yet, the group pledged to be there if needed. 'We think Senator Cruz is going to be fine but if he needs reinforcements we'll be there," SLF president and CEO Steven Law told Campaign Pro's James Arkin in a statement.

MOULTON MAKES MOVES - Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton is out with a fresh wave of endorsements from his Serve America PAC, including his first gubernatorial endorsements. Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: Moulton "is endorsing James Smith, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in South Carolina, and Rep. Tim Walz, the newly minted Democratic nominee for governor of Minnesota. Moulton and his PAC are also weighing in on behalf of more House contenders, including Democrats Colin Allred (TX-32) and Susie Lee (NV-03) in two core battleground districts, as well as Chris Hunter (FL-12), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Nancy Soderberg (FL-06), and Ron DiNicola (PA-16)."

JUST SUPER - The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus is pushing back on a DNC plan to weaken the power of superdelegates. POLITICO's David Siders: "In a letter to DNC Chairman Tom Perez, [Rep. Cedric] Richmond (D-La.) said the proposal would 'disenfranchise elected officials' who serve as superdelegates. 'There should be enough room in the process to include the perspective of local party activists and officials, and Members of Congress,' Richmond wrote. 'One group should not be harmed at the expense of the other.' ... Many House Democrats previously expressed concerns about efforts to curb the influence of superdelegates, and Richmond's opposition was not unexpected. But his letter
signals the likelihood of a contentious gathering when the DNC meets in Chicago next week."

HE'S BACK - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson formally launched his bid for Senate in the state, on the Libertarian ticket. The Santa Fe New Mexican Steve Terrell: The bid "heightened speculation in New Mexico political circles about whether he will most hurt Democratic incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich or Republican newcomer Mick Rich. Rich said he's convinced that the socially liberal Johnson will take more votes from Heinrich. Heinrich's camp, however, ripped into more conservative stances by Johnson, who twice ran successfully for governor as a Republican. 'What a crazy, wacky world we live in,' Rich said in a phone interview Tuesday."

PRE-PRIMARY FIGHT - Republican Kelli Ward is trying to outmuscle Rep. Martha McSally for the party's Arizona Senate nomination. But Joe Arpaio has been on the warpath to derail Ward, a welcome sign for D.C. Republicans who back McSally. The Washington Examiner's Al Weaver: "While Ward has been intently focused on McSally, Arpaio's efforts have turned into a distraction. A video released last week claimed to feature an inebriated Ward singing a Grandmaster Flash song during karaoke in 2017, complete with vulgarities. ... 'An open U.S. Senate seat doesn't come around every day, and to think that they've got these game-players and these amateurs and these people who have personal vendettas
running a U.S. Senate candidates operation, it saddens me for Joe because whatever legacy he has left is really being dismantled systematically by those people,' Ward said."

BOLD STRATEGY, COTTON - Democrats are threatening to sue ... to keep embattled GOP Rep. Chris Collins on the ballot in New York's 27th District. The Hill's Scott Wong: "'Our contention and a lot of people's contention is this is fraudulent to get him off the ballot,' Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner told The Hill on Tuesday. ... Republicans 'have known that he was under investigation; they should have realized there could have been trouble all along,' said Zellner, the local Democratic chairman. He said the GOP is stuck with Collins 'because of their mismanagement of this situation.'"

- One of the Republicans trying to succeed Collins is Carl Paladino. Paldino, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010, is pitching himself as being one of Trump's closest allies, POLITICO New York's Jimmy Vielkind reported.

CODA - HEADLINE OF THE DAY: "Dear Abby's Jewish Grandson Wins Primary In Minnesota Swing District," from Forward's story about Democrat Dean Phillips primary victory in MN-03.

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