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By Elena Schneider | 04/03/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Zach Montellaro 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)

HAPPENING TODAY - "Wisconsin looks to state Supreme Court race for clues on November," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Democrats and Republicans in Wisconsin are mining a hard-fought state Supreme Court race Tuesday for clues about the political climate in the Midwest ahead of Gov. Scott Walker's reelection race and a host of other key November elections. President Donald Trump won Wisconsin just a year and a half ago, the first time since 1988 that Republicans got the state's electoral votes, but Democrats are already feeling confident about clawing back offices in Wisconsin after a major special-election upset in a deep-red state Senate seat earlier this year. Now, they face their
first statewide test in a race that is officially nonpartisan but has drawn heavy interest and spending from both political parties.

"Walker and the state Republican Party have been actively backing conservative candidate Michael Screnock, painting support for liberal Rebecca Dallet as part of an effort to undercut his campaign for a third term this November. Former Attorney General Eric Holder and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have all backed Dallet." Full story.

ESTY OUT - "Esty won't run for reelection after mishandling harassment allegations," by POLITICO's Heather Caygle: "Rep. Elizabeth Esty announced Monday that she will not run for reelection after coming under fire for her handling of sexual harassment allegations against her former chief of staff. ... Esty's announcement follows calls from several prominent Connecticut politicians of both parties demanding she resign after news broke late last week of how she addressed the sexual harassment and abuse allegations facing a former top staffer. ... With Esty's departure, the seat is not guaranteed to remain in Democratic hands. Esty won a close, hard-fought race for her first term in Congress
but strengthened her hold on Connecticut's 5th District in later elections, winning 53 percent of the vote in 2014 and 58 percent in 2016." Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - Not One Penny launches digital ads on tax reform: The Democratic group is going after two more House Republicans for their tax votes, part of its $5 million pledge to attack the GOP on its tax overhaul bill. This five-figure digital ad buy goes after Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur. Watch the the PA-01 ad here and the NJ-03 ad here.

NEW THIS MORNING - Democrat Katie Porter pops digital ad featuring Sens. Harris, Warren: Democrat Katie Porter, who's running in a crowded Democratic primary to take on Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in California's 45th District, is out with her first ad that features endorsements from California Sen. Kamala Harris and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. "Katie Porter is a nationally renowned consumer protection attorney," Harris says. "A working mother of three, Katie understands what families are going through," Warren says, adding that Porter will "hold Donald Trump accountable, fight for Medicare-for-All, and a woman's right to choose." Watch the ad here.

Q1 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS - The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced raising more than $5 million in the first quarter, including $1 million online.

FL-27: Democrat David Richardson raised $410,000 last quarter, finishing the period with $1.1 million in cash on hand.

MI-11: Democrat Haley Stevens announced raising over $185,000 in the first quarter and ending the period with more than $560,000 on hand.

WI-01: Democrat Randy Bryce announced his campaign to take on House Speaker Paul Ryan raised $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, with nearly $2.3 million cash on hand.

Days until the 2018 election: 217

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

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.

SIGN OF THE TIMES - "As Democrats eye congressional seat, GOP's Buchanan buys early ads," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo and Matt Dixon: "In a tough season for the GOP, Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan this week will start running the first television ads of his reelection campaign, an earlier-than-usual move that underscores the challenges ahead for the six-term incumbent as Democrats target his seat. The political headwinds, stirred by low approval ratings for President Donald Trump, have already struck Buchanan close to home. His son, James, lost a special election in a Republican-leaning state House seat that accounts for more than 21 percent of Florida's 16th Congressional
district represented by Rep. Buchanan." Full story.

AIR WARS - "Nancy Pelosi targeted in more than a third of GOP House commercials," by USA Today's Craig Gilbert: "The House Democratic leader has been featured in roughly one-third (34%) of all GOP broadcast ads aired in House races this year, according to data provided to the USA TODAY NETWORK by Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), which tracks political advertising. That compares with 9% in all of 2016 and 13% in 2014." Full story.

- McCaskill's first ad tells story of helping veteran exposed to mustard gas: "Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is out with the first ad of her reelection campaign, a 60-second spot telling the story of her assistance to Arla Harrell, a Missouri veteran who was exposed to mustard gas in secret experiments during World War II." Watch the ad here. Full story.

NEW YORK PROBLEMS - "Donovan blames Grimm for heroin arrest flap," by POLITICO's John Bresnahan: "The 2015 arrest of the son of Rep. Dan Donovan's domestic partner on charges of heroin possession has become the latest chapter in a bitter political fight in Staten Island. Donovan (R-N.Y.) says former GOP Rep. Michael Grimm - who is challenging Donovan in the Republican primary in June - is behind an ethics complaint claiming that Donovan intervened in the arrest of Timothy O'Connell, the son of Donovan's domestic partner, Serena Stonick." Full story.

OPENING UP SHOP - Nellis founds Authentic Campaigns: Mike Nellis, who served as vice president of campaigns at Revolution Messaging, is starting his own firm called Authentic Campaigns. California's Harris will be one of his clients.

CANDIDATE IN PROFILE - "In Missouri, GOP candidate for Senate walks Trump tightrope," by The Associated Press's Summer Ballentine and Steve Peoples: "He is one of the Republican Party's most-prized recruits, a young U.S. Senate candidate with an outsider resume and a populist message designed to appeal equally to farmers, suburban moms and the national GOP's moneyed elite. But things get complicated when you ask Josh Hawley about President Donald Trump. Hawley, who launched a Republican Senate bid in Missouri less than a year after being elected state attorney general, won't say whether he considers the Republican president a role model. In an interview with The Associated Press, the
38-year-old Yale Law School graduate also sidestepped questions about Trump's behavior toward women. 'No. 1, I am always my own man,' Hawley said." Full story.

'UNREPORTED CONTRIBUTIONS' - "FEC increases scrutiny of Zinke's former PAC," by POLITICO's Ben Lefebvre: "The Federal Election Commission is asking a leadership PAC previously affiliated with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to account for more than $600,000 of previously unreported contributions from the first six months of 2017. For most of the period in question, the committee, SEAL PAC, was overseen by Vincent DeVito, who is now a top aide to Zinke at the Interior Department, and this is the second time federal regulators have looked into discrepancies during his tenure." Full story.

CONDO FALLOUT - "Dark money group put at least $370K behind anti-DeSantis ads," by Politico Florida's Matt Dixon: "The National Liberty Federation, a Florida-based dark money group, has placed at least $371,000 behind ads blasting GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis on radio and in cable ads, according to media tracking numbers. The group is hitting DeSantis over a POLITICO Florida story that for a time the three-term congressman lived in a Flagler County condo owned by two defense contractors and campaign donors. DeSantis rented the condo after getting out of the U.S. Senate race. He needed to move because redistricting had drawn him out of his old district." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "They say no one goes there by accident ..." - Ohio Gov. John Kasich commenting on Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper's trip to Iowa, The Des Moines Register reported.

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