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By Elena Schneider | 04/16/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Scott Bland and Daniel Strauss

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)

PAC ATTACK - "GOP launches secret group to attack West Virginia coal baron," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "The Republican establishment has launched an emergency intervention in the West Virginia Senate primary aimed at stopping recently imprisoned coal baron Don Blankenship from winning the party's nomination. Late last week, a newly-formed super PAC generically dubbed the 'Mountain Families PAC' began airing TV ads targeting Blankenship, who spent one year behind bars following a deadly 2010 explosion at his Upper Big Branch Mine. The national party isn't promoting its role in the group but its fingerprints are all over it. ... According to federal disclosures, the commercials were
overseen by several firms that in the past have worked closely with Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that openly led the assault on Moore." Full story.

'JOLLY OLD FARMER' - "Tester's red-state strategy: 'I don't think they can beat who I am,'" by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard in Butte, Mont. - his final POLITICO story: "On paper, Sen. Jon Tester faces almost insurmountable odds of winning reelection: He's a second-term Democrat in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 20 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016. But Tester is not Clinton. He's running on different issues, emphasizing border security, veterans' health care and public lands protection. More important, he's blanketing every corner of Montana - a state Clinton never visited in 2016 - in preparation for the fight of his political career.

"That's how Tester found himself in Butte's plumbers and pipefitters union hall at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day, drinking a red beer - a half-domestic beer, half-clamato juice Montana specialty - and wearing a green baseball cap bearing the local's logo, which he had found earlier that morning in his house, hundreds of miles away. As Republicans yoke themselves to Trump and bludgeon Tester with links to national Democrats, Tester is betting key issues and a surprising number of Trump-signed bills can set him apart. But his biggest bet is that his own personality and biography vault him beyond the baseline numbers that suggest a Democrat shouldn't win Montana." Full story.

NEW THIS MORNING - AAN adds another $1 million to boost tax law: American Action Network announced that the group is adding another $1 million in TV and digital ads to bolster the Republican tax law, part of its $30 million ad effort. The ads will target 30 GOP-held House districts. "This April marks the end of the old broken tax code," the ad's narrator says. "Next year, a simpler system will save us time and money." Check out the list of targeted districts here. Watch the ad here.

Days until the 2018 election: 204

Upcoming election dates - AZ-08 special election: April 24 - Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia primaries: May 8. - Idaho, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Oregon primaries: May 15.

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

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We'll miss you, Kevin. Kick butt at The Huffington Post. And you can still find his excellent work here.

WEEKEND IN MINNESOTA - Phillips, Craig gain DFL endorsements, no candidate in MN-08: Democrats Angie Craig (MN-02) and Dean Phillips (MN-03) both picked up their party's endorsements over the weekend, but none of the five Democrats vying to replace retiring Rep. Rick Nolan came out on top. Democrats in Minnesota's 8th District debated in a basement ballroom for 10 hours, but none of the candidates reached the 60 percent threshold, MinnPost reported. Republicans "cast a shadow" over the debate, as Pete Stauber is expected to easily pick up the party's backing for Nolan's open seat.

BALLOT BATTLES - Candidates compete for ballot access: Colorado state treasurer Walker Stapleton qualified for the Republican primary ballot in the Colorado gubernatorial race, days after announcing that he would withdraw his ballot signatures because a campaign vendor had collected fraudulent signatures. Stapleton came out of the Saturday Republican state assembly with 43 percent of the delegates, while Attorney General Cynthia Coffman got only 6 percent, falling short of the 30 percent threshold needed to qualify for the ballot, according to The Denver Post. Meanwhile, former state treasurer Cary Kennedy beat Rep. Jared Polis in the Democratic assembly on Saturday as well, getting 62
percent of the delegate vote. Polis also qualified for the ballot through the assembly with 33 percent of the delegate vote, the Post reported.

Q1 FUNDRAISING - "Trump fundraising operation pulled in $20M in first 3 months of 2018," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "Donations to President Donald Trump's campaign operation surged to $20 million during the first three months of the year, new campaign finance filings show, in the wake of Republicans' December victory in passing sweeping tax reform legislation, H.R. 1 (115)."

- Takes money to make money ... "Trump's large campaign operation accrues significant costs: The campaign and the two joint fundraising committees together spent more than $650,000 on hats, mugs and other pro-Trump gear for supporters during the first three months of the year. The Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee focused on small-dollar fundraising, spent $2.2 million soliciting fundraising via direct mail to supporters, an expensive means of raising money." Full story.

- "Priorities USA super PAC ramps up fundraising for 2018," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland. "Priorities USA Action, the pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC that reinvented itself in 2017 with a broader mission and a focus on digital campaigning, raised $4.5 million in the first three months of 2018 as it prepares for the midterm elections." Full story.

- Giving top dollar ... Two New York financiers, George Soros and Donald Sussman, contributed a combined $4 million to Priorities USA during that time - accounting for a vast majority of the super PAC's donations, per the latest FEC report. (H/t: @levinecarrie.)

- Texas Senate: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz announced late Friday that he raised over $3.2 million in the first quarter and finished the period with nearly $8.2 million cash on hand. Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke had previously announced raising $6.7 million in Q1, but did not release a cash on hand number.

- Montana Senate: Tester raised $2 million in the first quarter of 2018 and has $6.8 million on hand, POLITICO reported.

- CA-50: Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar raised $200,000 in the first quarter with $330,000 in cash on hand.

- FL-07: Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy raised $400,000 in the first quarter with $1.1 million in cash on hand.

- IL-14: Democrat Lauren Underwood announced that she raised $460,000 in the first quarter.

- KS-03: Democrat Brent Welder raised $240,000 in the first quarter with $360,000 in cash on hand.

- ME-02: Democrat Jared Golden raised $270,000 in the first quarter with $310,000 in cash on hand.

- MN-08: Republican Pete Stauber raised $130,000 in the first quarter with $330,000 in cash on hand.

- NH-01: Republican Eddie Edwards raised $100,000 in the first quarter with $160,000 in cash on hand, NH1 reported.

- OH-14: Democrat Betsy Rader raised $280,000 in the first quarter with $400,000 in cash on hand.

- VA-10: Democrat Dan Helmer raised $200,000 in the first quarter with $500,000 in cash on hand.

- WI-01: Democrat Cathy Myers announced that she raised $500,000 in the first quarter.

- Sidebar: Rep. Blake Farenthold, who recently resigned from Congress, spent $60,000 on legal fees during the first three months of the year.

SIGN OF THE TIMES - "Fealty to Trump has become the coin of the realm for GOP Senate candidates," by The Washington Post's Michael Scherer: "... Candidates who once distanced themselves from him now declare themselves acolytes, attack rivals for any deviation from the Trumpian script and, in one case, even don his cherry-red campaign cap in ads. ... At the root of the fawning rapprochements are two defining features of the Senate landscape: Trump enjoys enormous popularity among Republican primary voters, and most of the contested races are in states Trump won in 2016." Full story.

STATE IN PROFILE - "The Florida Governor Primary Is A Big Experiment For How Democrats Run Against Trump," by Buzzfeed's Darren Sands: "Each of the top Democratic contenders for governor is employing a different strategy in how to approach President Donald Trump. ... Since the primary isn't until Aug. 28 - and polling shows voters aren't especially familiar with any of the candidates - Florida may offer a great look at what Democratic voters really want from their candidates when it comes to a central question hanging over the party's national politics: how best to run against the president." Full story.

FLIP FLOP - "In the era of Donald Trump, New England's biggest GOP donor is funding Democrats," by The Boston Globe's Annie Linskey: "Boston hedge fund billionaire Seth Klarman lavished more than $7 million on Republican candidates and political committees during the Obama administration, using his fortune to help underwrite a GOP takeover of the federal government. But the rise of Donald Trump shocked and dismayed Klarman, as did the timid response from the Republican-controlled House and Senate, which have acquiesced rather than challenge the president's erratic and divisive ways. So, in an astonishing flip, Klarman, at one point New England's most generous donor to Republicans, is taking
his money elsewhere: He's heaping cash on Democrats." Full story.

ICYMI - "Democrats Maintaining Advantage Over GOP in Voter Sentiment Poll," by The Wall Street Journal's Janet Hook: "While Democratic interest in the election rose from March, the spike didn't translate into gains for the party in a broader measure of the political climate: Asked which party should control the next Congress, voters favored Democrats over the GOP by 47% to 40%, down from a 10-point spread last month." Full story.

ON THE AIRWAVES - Chamber of Commerce backs Hyde-Smith in Mississippi: "The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is up with an ad backing freshly appointed Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi's Senate special election." Watch the ad here. Full story.

- Renacci features Trump in first Ohio Senate ad: "Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Renacci is up with his first television ad of Ohio's Senate race, featuring words of support from President Donald Trump." Watch the ad here. Full story.

2020 WATCH - "Biden: I'm not ruling out 2020 run," by POLITICO's Brent D. Griffiths: "Vice President Joe Biden is not ruling out a White House run in 2020, telling MSNBC host Al Sharpton that all options remain open. 'I'm really hoping that some other folks step up. I think we have some really good people,' Biden said of the potential other 2020 Democratic hopefuls in an interview that aired Sunday." Full story.

- "Deval Patrick plans to ramp up his political activity this year," by The Boston Globe's Michael Levenson: "Patrick has previously acknowledged that running for president in 2020 is 'on my radar screen.' On Friday, he declined to say how seriously he is considering a campaign, but sketched a timeframe for ramping up his political activity this year." Full story.

- "LA and Iowa have 'a ton in common,' LA's mayor Garcetti tells Iowa voters," by CNN's Maeve Reston: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti caught heat in his home state last week when he suggested Iowa was a lot like California. But he never strayed from that message during his weekend visit to this state, with one prominent Democrat noting that the potential 2020 contender has already got some 'Obama buzz.'" Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It is the truth. It is documented. And you should look." - Republican Cynthia Coffman on her Republican opponent Walker Stapleton, mentioning "his 1999 drunken-driving conviction from California and how the firm his campaign used to gather petition signatures hired felons," The Denver Post reported.

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