Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: McCain goes after Ward in new TV ad — Murphy halts ads against Grayson — Fundraising numbers from Democratic super PACs, Arizona, Florida
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2016 08:01:54 -0600

By Theodoric Meyer | 08/19/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Maggie Severns and Kevin Robillard

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)

ADS ON THE SLY - "McCain attacks Ward on TV at the 11th hour," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: "For the past year, GOP Sen. John McCain has had one strategy for dealing with his primary challenger: Ignore her. That is changing with less than two weeks to go in the primary, as McCain has quietly started airing a new TV ad directly hitting former state Sen. Kelli Ward as a national security neophyte. ... 'In a dangerous world, Arizona can't afford Kelli Ward in the Senate,' the narrator says in McCain's ad. ... McCain's campaign started airing the spot last night. The campaign has not announced it in a press release or uploaded it to the campaign YouTube channel." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5bcd950570227a64d71b325e4d2a853631a2d439d9782df4f8c12b0463dc03ab

- Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh, meanwhile, also recently began running an attack ad that the campaign hasn't publicized or posted to its YouTube page. The spot blames GOP Rep. Todd Young for a role in the departure of Carrier, a heating and air conditioning manufacturer that recently outsourced 1,400 jobs to Mexico. "Congressman Young voted for tax breaks for companies like Carrier, that ship Indiana jobs to Mexico and China," a narrator says in the ad. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5bcd950570227a64233022100219a7f7e6c5db78eeadab9c564ab580e0f51b5b

FLORIDA FRIDAY - "Confident of primary win, Murphy stops TV ads," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: "Rep. Patrick Murphy is so confident he'll beat fellow Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson in their Senate primary that he's no longer advertising on television. By going dark through the primary on Aug. 30, the Murphy campaign will save about $800,000 that it knows it'll need to take on the well-financed incumbent, Sen. Marco Rubio ... 'We are not trying to run up the score on Grayson, so don't expect the final result to be a massive blowout,' said a senior Murphy adviser. 'We're focusing on defeating Rubio.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5bcd950570227a640a5458137781fe2e4fe4fa205531de6108da8182740b6d75

- "Worried Florida Republicans push Ryan for Zika action," by POLITICO's Rachael Bade: When Republicans left town this summer, they abandoned a billion-dollar Zika rescue package that had become mired in partisan infighting. But now some rank-and-file Florida Republicans - who represent scared constituents clamoring for Washington to do something - are pressuring their leaders to get a deal done, no matter what it takes. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) asked Speaker Paul Ryan to convene an emergency session of Congress to pass a Zika bill immediately. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) is worrying that Congress' lack of action could cripple him in an already tough reelection battle. And a
 number of Florida Republicans, including Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), want their party to fully fund President Barack Obama's larger $1.9 billion Zika request. ... 'I don't care how it gets passed, it just needs to get passed,' Curbelo said in a phone interview Wednesday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcade52ff1931d35288cf5ae17d81b84ab03851a2f83d68f889d

- "Senate Leadership Fund pledges $15 million more for Rubio," by POLITICO Florida's Marc Caputo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcad1ba6755d6daa2fdcebe933ae469127288aab4a41ee4459f0

Days until the 2016 election: 81.

Days until the Arizona and Florida congressional primaries: 11.

Thank for joining us. You can email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked] and [email-masked].

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about Rosslyn's food desert: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

HOOSIER HEADACHES - Bayh's Indiana voting status: Inactive," by CNN's Manu Raju: "Election officials in Indiana have concluded that former Sen. Evan Bayh is an "inactive" voter in their state after they failed to confirm he lives in Indianapolis, creating a new problem for the Democrat as he mounts a late effort to win back his old Senate seat. According to records obtained by CNN, Bayh has been listed as an inactive voter twice since leaving office - once in July 2014 and the second time last week. ... Bayh is still a registered voter, and being listed as inactive does not prevent the former two-term senator and governor from voting in the state. But being considered inactive is the first
 step from being removed altogether from the voter rolls." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcad8e87f469f26dbec5cd6b5be4e50b12f31b5bf031f5f46212

- Bayh "brushed off the increasing scrutiny over his Indiana residency," in an interview with POLITICO's Seung Min Kim in Indianapolis on Thursday, "arguing that his multiple homes here and in Washington won't ultimately be a 'compelling issue' for voters this November. 'We have a home in D.C. and we have a home in Indianapolis. We list them both for different things,' Bayh said during a wide-ranging interview with POLITICO at a local farmer's market and food hall here. 'Dick Lugar, when he was in the Senate, Dan Coats right now in the Senate, have all had to juggle representing Indiana while also having a presence in Washington, D.C. There's no difference.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcada3ff5bab15c5998c5bc0e50b2e66a91f947fc62f8939c01e

FIRST IN SCORE - FUNDRAISING REPORTS - Senate Majority PAC raises $6.9 million, House Majority PAC brings in $1.5 million: Senate Majority PAC, Democrats' lead super PAC focused on retaking the chamber, raised $6.9 million in July and had $7.3 million on hand at the end of the month. House Majority PAC, which plays the same role in House races, raised almost $1.5 million in July and had $13.6 million in cash on hand.

- Lawson outraises Brown ahead of FL-05 primary: Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown raised less than $14,000 between July 1 and Aug. 10 after being indicted on federal corruption charges in early July. She spent $89,000 and had less than $25,000 in cash on hand. Her primary opponent, former state Sen. Al Lawson, raised $50,000 and spent $102,000, with $120,000 left in cash on hand. The district is solidly Democratic.

- Taddeo outraises, outspents Garcia ahead of FL-26 primary: Annette Taddeo raised $151,000 and spent $525,000 between July 1 and Aug. 10, with $248,000 left in cash on hand. Her Democratic primary rival, former Rep. Joe Garcia, raised $69,000 and spent $175,000, with $306,000 left in cash on hand. The winner will face GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who raised $80,000 and spent $229,000, with nearly $2 million in cash on hand.

- See more pre-primary FEC reports from Arizona and Florida here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcadaec51b33b9520e63ac3f5f880d26934ad459dc11166c7808

FIRST IN SCORE - Arpaio will endorse Kiehne in AZ-01: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will endorse the rancher Gary Kiehne in the Republican primary to fill Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick seat in Arizona, giving Kiehne a potential advantage ahead of the Aug. 30 primary. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, the leading candidate, and Arpaio have both built their reputations of cracking down on illegal immigration, but the two men have feuded for years.

NEW THIS MORNING - Clinton drug czar praises Portman in new ad: General Barry McCaffrey, a retired four-star general and former "drug czar" for President Bill Clinton, praises Rob Portman's work on opioid addiction in an new testimonial campaign ad. In the ad, which starts airing today as part of Portman's $15 million in TV spending for the summer and fall, McCaffrey says Portman "has played an essential role in national leadership" and "did the hard work" to get the opioid addiction bill passed in the Senate. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcad2d2ff2e23d781dacd23221e7f8a4e73cce9418d83eaa7e90

FIRST IN SCORE - Cortez Masto ad pushes back on NRSC attacks: A new ad from Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto's campaign aims to rebut an NRSC ad attacking her on crime rates during her time as Attorney General. "The thing they left out is the truth," Cortez Masto says, speaking direct to camera in a courtroom. "The truth is crime actually went down in my time in office." The ad notes she's won endorsements from law enforcement in groups. Watch the 30-second spot here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcadc86f1c6531dcaf8e84c725442e22351114614d017ab0ad12

SCHEDULING CONFLICT - Walberg skipping Trump rally in his district: Donald Trump is visiting GOP Rep. Tim Walberg's district this afternoon for a rally outside of Lansing, Mich. But Walberg, who's facing a competitive race this fall, won't be there. "He has a scheduling conflict tomorrow and is unable to attend," Dan Kotman, a Walberg spokesman, wrote an email. Walberg appears to be following the advice of Rob Jesmer, a former NRSC executive director who told POLITICO that he recommended vulnerable Republicans "have a perpetual scheduling conflict" to avoid appearing with Donald Trump if he comes to their districts. 

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Manafort's man in Kiev," by POLITICO's Kenneth P. Vogel: "In an effort to collect previously undisclosed millions of dollars he's owed by an oligarch-backed Ukrainian political party, Donald Trump's campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been relying on a trusted prot&eacute;g&eacute; whose links to Russia and its Ukrainian allies have prompted concerns among Manafort associates, according to people who worked with both men. The prot&eacute;g&eacute;, Konstantin Kilimnik, has had conversations with fellow operatives in Kiev about collecting unpaid fees owed to Manafort's company by a Russia-friendly political party called Opposition Bloc, according to operatives who
 work in Ukraine. A Russian Army-trained linguist who has told a previous employer of a background with Russian intelligence, Kilimnik started working for Manafort in 2005 when Manafort was representing Russian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, a gig that morphed into a long-term contract with Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-aligned hardliner who became president of Ukraine." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcadd974776dd859bc73424a34751d22fb08f69727020f8e9edb

- "Time running out on Trump in North Carolina," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck in Apex, N.C.: "On the floor of the Republican National Convention last month, an anguished attendee cornered Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions with an urgent message. 'We need help in North Carolina,' the attendee told Sessions, a top Donald Trump ally. 'We can get no information about anything. We don't know who to go to. ... We've got to get some boots on the ground, we really do. We have nothing.' Now, 80 days before the election, Trump's team is trying to regain a foothold in this must-win state, but the Republican nominee's challenge here is only growing." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcad411774daa3b9d499a54ce3ab0bcaf7f2eebd862400e39e08

- "Trump and Clinton wreck Facebook friendships," by POLITICO's Darren Samuelsohn: "Democratic consultant Brent Blackaby's relationship with his conservative uncle had survived the controversies of the George W. Bush administration and weathered chain emails from his relative positing that President Barack Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim. What it couldn't take was Donald Trump. Soon after the Republican presidential nominee suggested last week what 'Second Amendment people' could do to stop Hillary Clinton, Blackaby severed Facebook ties with his Trump backing-uncle, and in the process got into a nasty name-calling spat that consumed parents, siblings, cousins and anyone else following along
 in his 2,300-friend social network." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcadbcc8fd195f5f96d7552c7ebea79fbd9ed260d046be8a7ebf

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's going to be like 'Weekend at Bernie's' - you got to make him look alive, even if he's not." - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), on the need for Republican leaders to prop up Donald Trump to avoid an even greater collapse in his poll numbers, which could hurt down-ballot Republicans. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=43ff4cd617ecbcad0e8774c0b8b080ab327894031acf9eba124c2c4afd572438

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