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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


POPPING OVERNIGHT - LOCAL HERO: Wisconsin's Republican leadership pitched state GOP Chairman Reince Priebus's bid to lead the Republican National Committee in an overnight missive praising his "humility, honesty, integrity and devotion to his family, his country and to the great state of Wisconsin." Authored by Wisconsin RNC members Mary Buestrin and Steve King, the letter to RNC members includes testimonials from the Wisconsin GOP's victorious 2010 slate. "Under Reince's leadership, the state party raised the money and did the hard work to build and execute a phenomenally successful grassroots campaign in every community in Wisconsin," Sen.-elect Ron Johnson says in one featured quote. In another, Rep. Paul Ryan tells committee members Priebus "has been unwavering in both his support and defense of conservative principles, has implemented successful grass roots, communications and fundraising initiatives at the state and local levels."


The list of Priebus backers also includes Gov.-elect Scott Walker and Lt. Gov.-elect Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, state Senate Majority Leader-to-be Scott Fitzgerald, Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner and Tom Petri, and Reps.-elect Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble. That's a big group and it points to one of the key selling points for Priebus's candidacy: Even by 2010 standards, the Wisconsin GOP had a very good year. Still, the most important names on the letter may be the ones least known to national audiences: Buestrin and King, whose support means Priebus has locked down his home-state RNC delegation. That's a feat other candidates for the chairmanship can't yet claim. Read on for more on the race ...


As Chris Healy takes a pass, Randy Altschuler looks to the next horizon and time runs short for Joe Miller, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the permanent campaign.


THE 2012 SCORE - LEDE OF THE DAY: "Mayor Bloomberg Wednesday morning outlined six principles to fix the nation's economy - none of which he could do as mayor, but all of which he could do as President." More from Adam Lisberg of the New York Daily News: "In a speech light on specifics but heavy on nationwide ambition, Bloomberg said America needs to cut regulations and taxes for businesses, promote trade and immigration, restore confidence and invest in job training. 'This is not a liberal or conservative approach to job creation. It's an effective approach. And it's an approach that we need more of at the state and national level,' the mayor said. ... Bloomberg repeated his criticisms of the Democratic and Republican parties, in terms that sounded like a stump speech to run for higher office." http://nydn.us/hBXYnU


AND THE FOLLOW-THROUGH - Coming up on NBC's "Meet the Press": "The economy and politics - an exclusive interview with the Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg."


IN OTHER NON-CANDIDATE NEWS: The effort to dragoon Florida Sen.-elect Marco Rubio into a 2012 campaign has begun with the launch of www.draftmarcorubiio.com - a site that aims to do exactly what it sounds like. "To beat Obama, Republicans must find a candidate who inspires us like Ronald Reagan did and can withstand the inevitable attacks of the Obama machine," the page argues, citing POLITICO's Ben Smith's scoop on Democratic efforts to thwart Rubio in 2010: "Marco Rubio scares Barack Obama. That's why Obama sent Bill Clinton to beg the Democrat to drop out of the race in order to use Charlie Crist to end Marco Rubio's career. It didn't work."


EARLY-STATE SIREN - SUNUNU MOVES: Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu is endorsing Cheshire County Republican Chairwoman Juliana Bergeron to take over the helm of the state Republican Party, WMUR's James Pindell reports: "For his endorsement he wanted to be given some new, ambiguous role with the state party moving forward, like a 'Chairman Emeritus'. Sources say this will likely be an unofficial role that would have power in decision making, but none of the responsibilities in the day to day running of the committee (or the criticism.) Last week Sununu's son, James, floated his name as a candidate for the job. ... Two-time former Congressional candidate Jennifer Horn looks like she will still run setting up an establishment versus Tea Party dynamic. Derry Republican Chair Jim Foley is also interested and would run as an out-sider and on his success as local chair." http://bit.ly/e2WSkv


POLL OF THE DAY - IN DECLINE: A 51-percent majority of Americans say they're worse off now than when President Barack Obama took office, according to a Bloomberg National Poll, and just 35 percent say their personal situation has improved. The caveat: "Obama's numbers in the poll, given the context of an economy that is struggling to recover from the longest recession since the Great Depression and the experience of past presidents, aren't so bad. As Reagan approached the end of his second year in office, his numbers were more negative than Obama's in this survey." Still, even as the Republican presidential field remains unsettled and state-by-state polling shows Obama's numbers holding up, this may be the GOP's best big-picture bet: That 2012 can be turned into the second consecutive referendum on an incumbent who simply hasn't lived up to expectations. http://bit.ly/ev2O66 NO. 435 - BISHOP IS KING: The last unresolved House race of 2010 is over and New York Democrat Tim Bishop will return for a new term in January. Republican challenger Randy Altschuler conceded, declining to request a recount that he called an "unnecessary burden on the taxpayers of Suffolk County." Newsday has more: "Altschuler phoned Bishop to concede Wednesday morning. The two spoke for about five to six minutes and had 'a gracious conversation,' spokesmen for the two candidates each said. ... Altschuler, who moved to Long Island in 2006 and first voted in the 1st Congressional District in 2008, signaled that he will be a presence in the region's future political scene. 'I intend,' he said, 'to play an active role in building the Republican and Conservative Party voices in both Suffolk County and New York State.'" http://bit.ly/gM5fpZ


MORE FROM THE RNC - NOT A GOOD HEADLINE: "More money woes revealed at Republican National Committee," ABC's Matthew Mosk reports: "The Republican National Committee has quietly disclosed more than $4 million in previously unreported debt in amended filings with the Federal Election Commission, meaning yet another headache for embattled party chairman Michael Steele. In a letter to the FEC Wednesday, RNC official Boyd Rutherford said the unreported money woes 'were discovered during a self-initiated internal review process, which was undertaken in connection with the arrival of a new Chief of Staff and Finance Director.' ... In July, ABC News and others reported that the RNC had failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the FEC." http://abcn.ws/hWfDEv


LANDING WITH GENTRY: Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy, who had talked up a potential run for RNC chairman, decided against a campaign of his own and backed former RNC political director Gentry Collins's bid. POLITICO's Andy Barr: "Healy pointed to Collins's ties to GOP players outside the committee as the key factor in his endorsement, indicating that such ties would be key to rebuilding the committee's fundraising efforts, especially with major donors. '[Collins] has the respect of the political community nationwide - the political operatives and the donors - including the major donors that Michael Steele struggled with.'" http://politi.co/gy6t7f


PLUS - OPUS DAY: Florida RNC Committeewoman Sharon Day announced in an e-mail overnight that she's running for co-chair of the organization - one of the RNC's top executive jobs, which must be held by someone of the opposite gender from the chairman. "I am running to assist our next elected Chairman as an active partner and I will proudly serve with whomever our Committee elects," wrote Day, the current RNC secretary. "We must reach out not just to our own leadership, but our grass roots activists, our voters, our donors, organizations that share our conservative beliefs and values such as conservative PACs, conservative think tanks, and the Tea Party organizations."


LAST ONE STANDING - ALASKA TIMELINE: The end may be at hand for Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, whose court challenge to Sen. Lisa Murkowski's apparent write-in reelection will get a ruling from Judge William Carey by Friday. Or the fight could just be starting, the Anchorage Daily News reports: "A decision for Miller could result in thousands of challenged write-in ballots for Sen. Lisa Murkowski being reviewed and lead to a recount, a prospect attorneys for Murkowski argue could leave Alaska with just one senator when the new Congress is sworn in." The punch line: "Any decision is expected to be appealed to the state Supreme Court." http://bit.ly/dKt0gV


PLUS - CITIZENS UNITED WATCH - Murkowski's campaign won support from Alaska native groups, which donated generously to support her write-in bid, and the Anchorage paper notes that one super-PAC could continue to send ripples through Alaska politics: "Standing Together, one of the nation's new 'super PACs,' reported raising $1.7 million over 38 days in its independent effort to re-elect Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The single biggest contributor, at $308,000, was the Alaska Federation of Natives, a nonprofit with a mission 'to promote the common good and general welfare of the Alaskan Native community.' ... [T]he Dec. 2 report shows numerous large contributions that would have been illegal before two court decisions this year that struck down restrictions on donations by corporations and groups of individuals." http://bit.ly/g4bQ3I


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Our fear is that it was a target. ... We just don't know." - Rebecca Mansour, a spokeswoman for Sarah Palin, on Palin's announcement that her website and credit card were under attack from supporters of WikiLeaks http://politi.co/ie5Ln8

Go to Morning Score Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningscore


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