Subject: POLITICO’s Morning Score, presented by The George Washington University Political Management Program: Begich hits Kochs, AFP in first TV ad—Graham, Southerland neck-and-neck in new FL-02 poll—RightNOW PAC set to back Comstock in VA-10—FL-13 race in final stretch
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 03:53:00 -0600

By Emily Schultheis ([email-masked]; Twitter: @emilyrs) and Jose Del Real (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jdelreal)

NEW THIS MORNING-BEGICH TV AD HITS KOCHS, AFP: Alaska Sen. Mark Begich will release his first television ad Monday, an attack on the conservative Koch brothers' group Americans for Prosperity. "First it was a D.C. actress pretending to be an Alaskan," a narrator says, referring to the two AFP ads in Alaska thus far. "Now ads attacking Mark Begich on a carbon tax have been called false and not true." The second half of the ad features Alaskan voters talking about the Kochs - and hitting them for the closure of the Flint Hills Resources, an Alaska oil refinery owned by Koch Industries. "They come in to our town, buy our refinery," one Alaskan says, while another follows by saying the company
 is "just running it into the ground." "I don't go down and tell them what to do; I don't expect them to come to Alaska and tell us what to do," another man says. The anti-Koch brothers theme is one that national Democrats have been pushing of late. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded04122649d9e962750015ec98b2c4be217f01e5379b40deb 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded04122649d9e962750015ec98b2c4be217f01e5379b40deb  (Watch the ad: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660de81b820484554b83ef8fae78b5504e9e9f518838e672b1e6b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660de81b820484554b83ef8fae78b5504e9e9f518838e672b1e6b )

SCORE EXCLUSIVE-GRAHAM, SOUTHERLAND IN DEAD HEAT: The race between Democrat Gwen Graham and incumbent Florida Rep. Steve Southerland is neck-and-neck, according to a recent internal poll from Graham's campaign. The poll of Florida's 2nd district, from Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, finds Southerland leading by 2 points, 42 percent to 40 percent - well within the poll's 4.4-percent margin of error. Southerland, who won reelection by 6 points in 2012, is one of Democrats' top House targets this year. Graham, the daughter of former Sen. Bob Graham, is a highly touted Democratic recruit. Asked if they'd like to reelect Southerland or would prefer someone new, just 36 percent said they wanted to
 reelect the incumbent Republican; just under half, 49 percent, said it's time for someone new. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660def00fc19a82606111ed4f45e2d14ee14e5e27081c1c1ac0fa 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660def00fc19a82606111ed4f45e2d14ee14e5e27081c1c1ac0fa  (See the polling memo: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded8a6d79571b0fd5efd4633bc2e4baf58072cca36765bd4e0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded8a6d79571b0fd5efd4633bc2e4baf58072cca36765bd4e0 )

CPAC'S WINNERS AND LOSERS, via POLITICO's James Hohmann: "WINNERS - Rick Perry: [H]e went a long way at this conference toward rehabilitating the "oops" reputation he earned during his disastrous 2012 campaign. ... Chris Christie: Christie wasn't even invited to CPAC last year; this year the New Jersey governor got what he needed out of the conference. ... Rick Santorum: The last man standing against Romney in 2012 is positioning himself to run as the populist alternative to the libertarian Paul and whoever emerges as the establishment favorite. ... Scott Walker: The governor of Wisconsin, facing a competitive reelection campaign in his blue state, skipped this year's conference but was
 still a star, tying Santorum.

LOSERS - Ted Cruz: After a year in the limelight as a conservative darling, the Texas senator dramatically underperformed expectations. ... Marco Rubio: Several news outlets, including POLITICO, have written about Rubio's effort to recover from the toll his image took among conservatives over his work on immigration reform. But the straw poll results make clear he has a ways to go. ... Paul Ryan: Mitt Romney's old running mate, picked partly because of his ability to galvanize conservative voters, is now seen by most on the right as a fixture of the GOP establishment. ... Donald Trump: The business mogul, television personality and professional gadfly declared at the start of his remarks
 that he would not speak from a teleprompter. It showed." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660decd414d42ea594d4a2308a6f3010c9c66e9c6f1e8a9309dae 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660decd414d42ea594d4a2308a6f3010c9c66e9c6f1e8a9309dae 

As Mark Pryor gets some good polling news, Barbara Comstock picks up two new endorsements and Charlie Crist jokes about his party-switching tendencies, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily guide to the 2014 midterms.

DAYS UNTIL THE ELECTION: 239.

** Want a career in politics or public relations?Understanding how to leverage your passion for a cause or a candidate is only the first step of a successful campaign. At GW's Graduate School of Political Management, we game out real-world scenarios in the classroom.

Good Monday morning and welcome to Morning Score. As always, send your tips, thoughts, and suggestions to 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or tweet them to @emilyrs.

FIVE QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD-

1) Can Alex Sink pull out a victory in Florida's 13th district?

2) What will the two parties learn from FL-13 to help them hone their November strategies?

3) Do all the many Democrats in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race make it onto the ballot after this week's filing deadline?

4) Can Bruce Rauner's opponents in the Illinois GOP gubernatorial primary do anything to cut into his lead before the March 18 primary?

5) Will fellow Democrat George Gollin's negative ad (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660de9a6287f45a9a45b1722aa1036f035fa790cdf04f462ae2c1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660de9a6287f45a9a45b1722aa1036f035fa790cdf04f462ae2c1 ) against DCCC favorite Ann Callis in IL-13 cause Democrats heartburn ahead of next week's primary?"

FILING DEADLINES THIS WEEK: Monday: Montana ... Tuesday: New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania ... Friday: Idaho, Iowa, Nevada

NEW POLL IN ARKANSAS SHOWS BETTER NUMBERS FOR PRYOR: A new poll of the Arkansas Senate race finds Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor with either a slight lead over or tied with GOP Rep. Tom Cotton-better numbers for the Democrat than most recent public polling in the race. The poll, from the Democratic firm Hickman Analytics, Inc. (conducted for a non-partisan client), finds Pryor leading Cotton 40 percent to 37 percent when three third-party candidates are included. In a Pryor-Cotton two-way matchup, the two candidates are tied at 46 percent each. Still, it's not all good news for Pryor: asked if they'd want to reelect Pryor or replace him with a Republican, 47 percent chose the Republican; 39
 percent said they would vote to give Pryor another term. Full results: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded78b2b927a76e29d206f8df34e442740686685d7f676d909 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0c58a340cc0660ded78b2b927a76e29d206f8df34e442740686685d7f676d909 

SCORE PREVIEW-TWO NEW ENDORSEMENTS FOR COMSTOCK: GOP state Del. Barbara Comstock will get two endorsements today: one from the new Republican women's group RightNOW PAC and another from former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. She's the first of five candidates RightNOW PAC will endorse this week, all via its Twitter page (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeabebac69fc1564c8158c1af3f2f2f81551023d9bca17b4f6 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeabebac69fc1564c8158c1af3f2f2f81551023d9bca17b4f6 ). RightNOW PAC was founded earlier this year by former Bush aide Marlene Colucci in an effort to help the GOP perform better among young female voters. In Bolton's endorsement, he praised Comstock's positions on and experience in foreign policy issues: "Barbara, with her senior level experience on Capitol Hill and at the Justice Department, understands the need to restore our military, repair relations with our closest allies, and work with her colleagues to ensure that no adversary-including Iran or Russia-ever question American resolve," Bolton says in a statement. Comstock is facing a crowded GOP primary in the race to replace retiring Rep.
 Frank Wolf; she's gotten the lion's share of the endorsements thus far from all ends of the party, including from Mitt Romney and the conservative group Citizens United.

EVE OF ELECTION DAY IN FLORIDA'S 13TH DISTRICT: Republican David Jolly and Democrat Alex Sink are down to the wire in the closely watched Sunshine State bellwether race. The Tampa Bay Times reported that, as of Saturday, Jolly had squeezed out a 4,515-vote lead during the early voting period-out of 117,000 ballots-setting up a tight contest Tuesday. Despite a positive early showing for Jolly, it remains to be seen who can attract the most swing voters in the centrist district where President Obama narrowly won in 2012 and 2008 but where voters remain deeply skeptical of the Affordable Care Act. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee2a61afd9101543940c7268518b8e00bf791961d2f4ea69b4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee2a61afd9101543940c7268518b8e00bf791961d2f4ea69b4 

THE CLINTON CHALLENGE-HOW ELSE TO ASK, 'ARE YOU RUNNING?': The New York Times' Amy Chozick looks at the challenge facing reporters and others who get the chance to ask Hillary Clinton questions these days: how do you find new ways to ask whether or not she's running in 2016? "As speculation grows about whether Mrs. Clinton will run for president again, in 2016, so too has a political parlor game of coming up with creative variations on the same question. The standard will-you-run inquiry no longer suffices. They come up at almost all of Mrs. Clinton's many paid talks to trade groups, events related to her charitable work and at galas and awards ceremonies. In interviews with Mrs. Clinton
 while she was still at the State Department, reporters routinely struck out by asking her directly about 2016. That continued after she left. 'I haven't made up my mind,' Mrs. Clinton told Barbara Walters of ABC News in December 2013. ('Hillary is a master at seemingly answering your question, but not answering,' Ms. Walters said in an interview.) The many non-journalists who have had the chance to grill Mrs. Clinton more recently usually try a fresh approach to the same old question." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee0063ffd2e1770fcae665db881104a5acaee60b4534a79a66 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee0063ffd2e1770fcae665db881104a5acaee60b4534a79a66 

ACROSS THE MAP-Quick takes from races around the country:

SENATE-

-AK-Sen: The NRSC is launching robocalls hitting Begich. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee675f1ac870c5eb352df56c95767ccb62efafafa6e8a14589 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee675f1ac870c5eb352df56c95767ccb62efafafa6e8a14589 

-AR-Sen: Mark Pryor defended his comments about his opponent, GOP Rep. Tom Cotton, having a "sense of entitlement" (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee71c8c178571d43f171199e831f1bea678aca205c991919f4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee71c8c178571d43f171199e831f1bea678aca205c991919f4 ); meanwhile, Pryor was panned by the GOP-leaning Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's editorial board over the flap: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eedd8a71bbd868496ef8d1dde957eb74167a75c232ad204ee9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eedd8a71bbd868496ef8d1dde957eb74167a75c232ad204ee9 

-IL-Sen: Perennial candidate Jim Oberweis has a more-than-30-point lead over fellow primary candidate Doug Truax, 52 percent to 18 percent, according to a Tribune/WGN-TV poll. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee4151952e55bd37bf880e122b682e982c21915a920c3cb46e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5ee4151952e55bd37bf880e122b682e982c21915a920c3cb46e 

HOUSE-

-MI-12: Democratic state Sen. Rebekah Warren won't run for retiring Rep. John Dingell's seat, leaving the Democratic primary open for Dingell's wife, Debbie Dingell. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eebf1405de49de704798e24dcb77a84297518d64117905544d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eebf1405de49de704798e24dcb77a84297518d64117905544d 

-CA-31, CA-17: DCCC-backed Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar received the endorsement of the California Democratic Party this weekend, which picked him over fellow Democrats Eloise Gomez Reyes and Joe Baca. Also, the state party endorsed incumbent Rep. Mike Honda over Democratic challenger Ro Khanna. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeb73f0e2945672cf0b9a792937447c88b83f0432b9f3e1bc7 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeb73f0e2945672cf0b9a792937447c88b83f0432b9f3e1bc7 

-WV-03: The DCCC has added Rep. Nick Rahall to its Frontline program, which helps vulnerable Democratic incumbents. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeb6676d3a87eba6b4751356f9804708c380a899ddb50e5d1b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d125c2b6d7a5eeb6676d3a87eba6b4751356f9804708c380a899ddb50e5d1b 

-MT-AL: The Planned Parenthood Action Fund backed Democrat John Lewis, a former Max Baucus aide, in his House bid. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8e1313a4f52fcba00d93b138b74e6a9c429467b84081790f1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8e1313a4f52fcba00d93b138b74e6a9c429467b84081790f1 

GOVERNORS-

-WI-Gov: GOP Gov. Scott Walker released his first TV ad, rebutting the claims Democrat Mary Burke's debut ad makes about unemployment under Walker. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8c7958f6a49da46b93b594e3ff4db64d4dd9301e035713859 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8c7958f6a49da46b93b594e3ff4db64d4dd9301e035713859 

-PA-Gov: Businessman Tom Wolf picked up big endorsements from a handful of western Pennsylvania pols this weekend in the Democratic primary. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a80754bb8b938ae79161329bb143704a860a63b68ef7e66f55 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a80754bb8b938ae79161329bb143704a860a63b68ef7e66f55 

-FL-Gov: The Miami Herald explains why polling looks so abysmal for GOP Gov. Rick Scott: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a84a7b3d7df1203eb8b67db9a3275214a68cbb50d43f350bfc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a84a7b3d7df1203eb8b67db9a3275214a68cbb50d43f350bfc 

-IL-Gov: Businessman Bruce Rauner leads fellow GOP primary candidate Kirk Dillard 36 percent to 23 percent, according to a Tribune/WGN-TV poll. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a81328cf9e1aedb38d8f519923848f8704e798954e73ca1c9e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a81328cf9e1aedb38d8f519923848f8704e798954e73ca1c9e 

CODA-QUOTE OF THE DAY:"The Gridiron always pokes fun at candidates from both parties. You could have saved time and just invited me." -Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, speaking at the Gridiron dinner in D.C. this weekend 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8e473f64c6efe7f900718c6e0d3cb90ae8b5599051999ff8a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d0966b03175850a8e473f64c6efe7f900718c6e0d3cb90ae8b5599051999ff8a 

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