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By Kevin Robillard | 01/05/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With 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)

VAN HOLLEN: 'WE CAN DO BOTH' - DSCC chairman bullish on GOP pickups: Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the chairman of the DSCC, has downplayed the party's chances of picking up GOP-held seats in the 2018 elections outside of Nevada and Arizona - until now. He previously always emphasized that the party's priority was protecting its incumbents, 10 of whom are running for reelection in states President Donald Trump won. But in an interview Thursday on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" with your Morning Score host and The Washington Post's Sean Sullivan, Van Hollen sounded more optimistic about encroaching on GOP territory.

"We think we can do both," Van Hollen said when asked if the committee was prioritizing defense or offense. "When you look at our incumbents, you've got a lot of battle-tested incumbents. ... We're going to work very hard to help them, but we'll also look for every pickup opportunity we can. There are a number of pickup opportunities. And this is also a cycle where we've seen, in the case of Alabama, where no state is safe for a Republican senator."

Van Hollen said all eight GOP-held seats "will be in play." "We have candidates in every one of those eight states, with the exception of Mississippi, where we are talking to some very strong candidates." But he stopped short of predicting Democrats would take back the majority: "I'm not going to make any predictions about what will happen in November 2018."

The freshman senator also clearly viewed Sen. Doug Jones' upset victory in Alabama as a potential model for Democratic wins, repeatedly praising Jones' focus on "kitchen-table issues." The full interview will be available online later today and will air on C-SPAN on Sunday.

- HAPPENING TODAY - "Trump, GOP leaders to discuss 2018 election at Camp David Friday," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "Congressional leaders are slated to brief President Donald Trump on the perilous midterm landscape [this] afternoon at Camp David. Amid rising concern that Republicans could lose their majorities in November, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy will lead separate presentations on 2018, according to three people familiar with the plans." Full story.

HE'S IN - "DeSantis makes it official, enters Florida governor's race," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: "With President Donald Trump's recent endorsement in his back pocket, Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis [today] will announce he's entering the Florida governor's race, a move poised to inject national cash into a campaign already on the 2018 national radar. ... DeSantis [this] morning will file paperwork with state election officials creating both his official campaign and a political committee called Friends of Ron DeSantis. The committee can accept unlimited contributions. ... DeSantis enters a Republican gubernatorial primary dominated to this point by Agriculture Commissioner Adam
Putnam, who has the support of much of the Florida Republican infrastructure. Putnam has so far raised nearly $23 million between his campaign and an affiliated political committee." Full story.

BANNON BOMB FALLOUT - "Bannon on the brink," by Isenstadt: "Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has lost the support of his primary financial backer, Rebekah Mercer, further isolating him and potentially crippling his ambitious plans to reshape the 2018 political landscape. Mercer, a daughter of billionaire Robert Mercer and a key funder of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, issued a rare public statement on Thursday rebuking Bannon for his scalding attack on Trump and his family in a forthcoming book, 'Fire and Fury,' by author Michael Wolff. ... Mercer's withdrawal of support throws into doubt Bannon's planned effort to oust establishment-aligned Republicans in the 2018
midterms. The Mercer family has helped to bankroll a number of Bannon-led projects, including Breitbart News, the conservative website Bannon oversees. ... Bannon has struggled to hire staffers for a nascent political group he launched, Citizens of the American Republic, which remains in a state of disorganization." Full story.

RETIREMENT WATCH - "Harper won't seek reelection," by POLITICO's Heather Caygle: "Rep. Gregg Harper, 61, has been in Congress since 2009 representing Jackson, Miss., and the surrounding area. In a statement, the five-term congressman said he has been thinking about when he would step down for nearly two years and made the final decision over the holiday break. ... Harper had been floated as a potential replacement for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), amid speculation that he will soon retire. Harper didn't say what he plans to do after he leaves Capitol Hill beyond spending more time in Mississippi with his family and working 'on policy issues that matter.' Harper overwhelmingly won his
reelection in 2016 and the district is heavily favored toward Republicans." Full story.

- A plugged-in Mississippi Republican lists these potential replacements: State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, state Reps. Mark Baker and Joel Bomgar, developer Whit Hughes, state Sen. Sally Doty and District Attorney Michael Guest.

OUT ON A LIMB - "Chris Collins digs in against the Trump haters," by POLITICO New York's Jimmy Vielkind: "By bucking many of his New York GOP colleagues and supporting the recent tax-cut legislation, Collins has all but tethered his political fate to the White House. He's gambling that his full-throated support for Trump will continue to fuel his rise, even as other state Republicans have second thoughts about a president who is deeply unpopular in his home state and whose tax plan hits New York homeowners hard. ... The Trump connection is widely thought to have scuttled any aspirations for statewide office, although Collins claims he no longer harbors them. He explored a run for governor
in 2010, but has attracted a legion of new critics and drawn a crowd of challengers in his upstate New York district - after twice winning reelection by landslide margins. The three-term congressman and former Erie County executive concedes there are more demonstrations against him back home than there used to be. '[T]he Trump haters are now Collins haters, too,' he told POLITICO." Full story.

LUCK OF THE DRAW - "Medicaid expansion fight looms after Virginia statehouse drawing," by Rachana Pradhan: "A showdown over Obamacare's Medicaid expansion pitting Republican lawmakers against Virginia's newly elected governor is almost certain following the GOP victory in a drawing to decide control of the state's House of Delegates. ... Gov.-elect Ralph Northam campaigned heavily on expanding the state's Medicaid program and has made it a top priority. But Democrats' inability to gain a 50-50 split in the state's lower legislative chamber on Thursday means they will need Republican defectors to back a plan, as well as figure out how to pay for its share of costs. Republicans also maintain
a narrow 21-19 majority in the state Senate. ... It's unclear whether Democrats will challenge Republican David Yancey's win to represent Virginia's 94th House District, which gave the GOP a 51-49 majority in the House of Delegates." Full story.

HAPPENING SOON - Steyer schedules announcement for Monday: Democratic donor and environmentalist Tom Steyer has scheduled an "announcement regarding his political future and plans for 2018" for Monday morning in Washington, D.C. One doesn't typically announce runs for statewide office in California from D.C.

Days until the 2018 election: 304

Upcoming election dates - Arizona 8th District special primary: Feb. 27. Texas primaries: March 6. Pennsylvania 18th District special election: March 13. Illinois primaries: March 20.

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, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

WEB WARS - FIRST IN SCORE - Missouri Rising digital ad attacks McCaskill as 'rich and liberal': Missouri Rising, a super PAC set up to back Attorney General Josh Hawley and bash Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the state's Senate contest, is out with a new digital ad attacking McCaskill. "It's lifestyles of the rich and liberal," the ad's narrator says. "The untold story of millionaire Claire McCaskill!" The ad attacks McCaskill for her $2.7 million D.C. condo and says she votes with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren 88 percent of the time. Watch it here.

STAYING THE NIGHT - "Illinois governor takes up residence in veterans home," by POLITICO Illinois' Natasha Korecki: "Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a multimillionaire who owns nine homes - including a condo overlooking Central Park in New York - is taking up residence this week under decidedly less luxurious conditions. As he works to contain the latest - and perhaps most daunting - crisis confronting his administration, the first-term Republican governor checked himself into a central Illinois, state-run veterans home where 13 veterans died over three years from a deadly Legionnaires' outbreak. His wife, Diana, is to join him at the Quincy facility over the weekend." Full story.

Q4 NUMBERS - Blackburn outraises Fincher: Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn raised $2 million in the fourth quarter for her bid to replace outgoing GOP Sen. Bob Corker, giving her $4.6 million on hand, her campaign said Thursday. Former Tennessee Rep. Stephen Fincher, also a Republican, announced late Wednesday night he raised $1.45 million in the fourth quarter and now has $3.7 million on hand. Blackburn had $3.2 million on hand at the start of the quarter, while Fincher had $2.3 million. The Democratic candidate in the race, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, has yet to announce his fundraising.

- Arizona governor: Democrat Steve Farley said he raised $513,000 in 2017, per the AP.

- IA-01: "Democratic state Rep. Abby Finkenauer raised more than $300,000 for her Iowa 1st District congressional campaign during the final quarter of 2017," The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports.

- NJ-07: "A former diplomat who wants to challenge Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in the 7th Congressional District raised more than a half-million dollars during the first three months of his campaign. Democrat Tom Malinowski has raised more than $525,000 since kicking off his campaign in October, according to a press release from his campaign. That's more than Lance has ever raised in a single quarter. Malinowski has about $440,000 in the bank, according to his campaign," POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman reports.

EARLY POLLING DATA - "New poll gives S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lead in GOP race with Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant in second," by the Post and Courier's Schuyler Kropf: "A South Carolina governor's race poll out [Thursday] puts Republican Gov. Henry McMaster first among GOP voters but there's a surprise move in second place. Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, who is appealing to social conservatives, is the next popular pick and ahead of former state agency head Catherine Templeton of Mount Pleasant. Templeton had been seen as McMaster's leading rival so far. ... The results were compiled by The Trafalgar Group pollsters." Full story.

DEPT. OF OPPOSITION RESEARCH - "Kevin Nicholson hit Reagan, Bush and Thompson as Democrat in 2000 TV interview," by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bill Glauber: Republican Senate candidate Nicholson "was then the president of the College Democrats of America. He appeared alongside Scott Stewart, then chairman of the College Republicans, during an interview with [Democratic strategist Paul] Begala and former Republican Congressman Bob Dornan. Besides signaling agreement with Begala's criticism of [Ronald] Reagan and [George H.W. Bush], Nicholson supported a woman's right to choose and took issue with the effectiveness of then-Gov. Tommy Thompson's welfare reform plan in Wisconsin. For good
measure, Nicholson said that Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin would be a good vice presidential running mate for Al Gore, the Democratic presidential standard bearer in 2000." Full story.

LONG READ - "For Native Americans, a 'Historic Moment' on the Path to Power at the Ballot Box," by the New York Times' Julie Turkewitz: "Fights over indigenous voting rights are playing out in the West and the Midwest, a trend that has the potential to tip tight races in states with large native populations, like Alaska and Arizona, and to influence matters of national importance, like the future of Bears Ears National Monument, a conservation area in this county that is at the center of a fierce debate over public lands." Full story.

STAFFING UP - Claire Sandberg, the former digital organizing director for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, has been hired by Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed as deputy campaign manager. Per a release from the campaign: "Abdul for Michigan announced today the addition of Claire Sandberg as Deputy Campaign Manager. Claire joins the campaign after leading digital organizing efforts for the Bernie Sanders presidential bid. She also organized in support of the U.K. Labour Party during their shocking electoral success in 2017. In addition, the campaign is working with Middle Seat Digital, including former digital director for Bernie Sanders' 2016
Presidential Campaign Kenneth Pennington, and former Sanders social media director Hector Sigala. The campaign is also working with Winnie Wong, the Founder of the People for Bernie Sanders."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Where's my Roy Cohn?" - President Donald Trump, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the DOJ's Russia probe, according to The New York Times.

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