Alabama donor forms anti-Strange PAC

With Kevin Robillard and Scott Bland

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PROGRAMMING NOTE — Due to the July Fourth holiday, Morning Score will not publish on Monday July 3 and Tuesday July 4. Our next Morning Score will publish on Wednesday July 5.

MAKE IT RAIN — “Alabama donor forms anti-Strange PAC,” by Campaign Pro’s Maggie Severns and Daniel Strauss: “A bombastic Alabama real estate developer has formed a new PAC devoted to defeating GOP Sen. Luther Strange in the upcoming Alabama Senate special election. Stan Pate, a Tuscaloosa Republican and longtime adversary of Strange, on Wednesday registered a PAC called the Swamp Drainers Foundation that he’ll use to spend enthusiastically against Strange in the months ahead, Pate told POLITICO. Pate’s decision to get involved in the race is the latest twist in an increasingly expensive contest. Strange, who was appointed to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions in the Senate earlier this year, has the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the NRSC and Senate Leadership Fund, the McConnell-aligned super PAC which has already reserved $2 million in pro-Strange advertising. Strange is expected to have a big financial advantage over his opponents in the Aug. 15 GOP primary, including Rep. Mo Brooks and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, but Pate’s riches could rebalance the scales.” Full story.

— “ RNC signs off on funding for Alabama special election,” by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: “The Republican National Committee has green-lighted funding for the upcoming Alabama special election — a long-delayed move that in recent days had become a point of contention between Senate Republicans and the White House. ... The approval, which was confirmed by three senior Republicans, is rooted in byzantine campaign finance rules — yet it involved weeks of closed-door talks, inflamed tensions between Senate GOP leaders and the administration, and touched on a central issue: how the insurgent-minded Trump White House will approach party primaries.” Full story.

— DEMOCRATS HOLD OUT SLIVER OF HOPE — “A Democratic Senator in deep red Alabama? At Doug Jones rally, optimism flourishes,” via AL.com. Full story.

SUMMER PROJECT — “House Democratic PAC launches research campaign on working-class white voters,” by Campaign Pro’s Scott Bland: “House Majority PAC, the main Democratic super PAC involved in House races, has launched a major project studying white working-class voters ahead of the 2018 elections, looking to arrest Democratic losses with the key demographic. The research is a sequel to an effort the super PAC ran in 2016, when it combined focus group interviews and a large-scale series of polls examining the views of whites without college degrees in key congressional districts. … The follow-up reflects growing recognition among Democrats that their party cannot win back political power in Washington or many states without many more votes from whites without college degrees. ‘We have to make a broad economic appeal to working men and women across the country. HMP has been committed to this effort,’ House Majority PAC executive director Charlie Kelly said. ‘We have ability to make a real economic case this cycle, and our goal is to help focus back on economic issues that have traditionally been the hallmark of the Democratic Party.’” Full story.

— HOT DOC — Third Way is out with a new report arguing Democrats need to go beyond suburban districts to take back the house. Full report here.

2018 WATCH — “Uproar over Senate health bill puts Flake's re-election in focus,” by The Arizona Republic’s Dan Nowicki: State Rep. Randy Friese, “who is perhaps best known statewide for his role in saving the life of then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after a near-fatal 2011 assassination attempt, confirmed to The Arizona Republic he is taking a serious look at challenging Flake. ... Earlier in the week, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, whose name also has started coming up as a possible Democratic Senate candidate, unloaded on the Republican legislation at another Arizona event expressing opposition to the Senate GOP health-care bill. Stanton denounced the bill for pushing back Medicaid funding ... The mayor is expected to make a decision about his 2018 intentions this summer.” Full story.

— Paul Soglin 'preparing' to run for governor, via The Wisconsin State Journal: “Inching closer to a bid for the state’s highest office, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin said he is ‘preparing’ to both seek re-election and the Democratic nomination for governor.”

— GOP state Rep. Mike Miller announces FL-07 run, via the Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello: “The move kicks off what should be a closely-watched race for the Republican nomination in District 7,” currently represented by freshman Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy. “... State Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, has also said he is considering a run for Congress in District 7. State Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Longwood, said he’s sitting this race out.” Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 130.

Days until the 2018 election: 494.

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AD WATCH — Judicial Crisis Network spending $140K pushing Stabenow on appeals court nominee: The ads focus on Michigan Supreme Court Justice Joan Larsen, a Trump nominee to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Michigan ad asks “why aren’t Senators Stabenow and [Gary] Peters supporting her nomination to the US Court of Appeals? Partisan politics,” the narrator says. Stabenow is one of 10 Trump-state Democrats up for reelection in 2018.

IT'S ALWAYS 2016 SOMEWHERE — “Republicans Left Ron Johnson for Dead Last Year, Now He Could Kill Their Health Care Bill,” by the Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff: “Johnson’s announcement last week—along with three other lawmakers—surprised Washington insiders. But, according to Wisconsin Republican insiders, it shouldn’t have been. After all, less than a year ago, those same Washington insiders left him for dead. … A person who has discussed the NRSC’s move with Johnson after Election Day told The Daily Beast he believes the senator ‘is still mega-pissed about what McConnell and Leadership did to him during the Senate race.’ 'This has been a long-stewing simmer for him, and after they cut him loose he was like, ‘Screw them, I owe them nothing,’” the source continued.” Full story.

STAFF CHANGES — “Pence to replace his chief of staff,” by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman: “Pence’s chief of staff, Josh Pitcock, will be replaced by Nick Ayers, a veteran political operative from Georgia who has been working with the vice president for three years. Mr. Ayers was the chief political strategist for Mr. Pence, then the governor of Indiana, when President Trump chose the governor as his running mate. … Ayers has been one of the leaders of an outside group supporting the White House, America First Policies, which had been preparing a series of ads criticizing Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, for his anticipated no vote on the Senate’s bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.” Full story.

— LOCAL ANGLE — “Nick Ayers is not running for governor” of Georgia, by the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Bluestein: “Ayers has long been floated as a possible contender for the job, and several influential allies of President Donald Trump encouraged him to run. But he’s decided against joining the crowded field.” Full story.

— “Turner replaces Weaver as Our Revolution president,” by Campaign Pro’s Daniel Strauss: “Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner is taking over as president of Our Revolution, the outside group started by Sen. Bernie Sanders after the 2016 presidential campaign. Turner, who was a top Sanders surrogate during the campaign, replaces Jeff Weaver, Sanders' former presidential campaign manager. Weaver is Sanders' most prominent longtime aide and had been Our Revolution's president since the summer of 2016.” Full story.

— Perez meets with Democrats for Life: Democrats for Life board member Charles Camosy, a Fordham professor, has an optimistic (from his perspective) account of the meeting in Crux. Full story.

SECOND ACT — “After primary loss, Perriello will lead new PAC supporting Democratic candidates for Virginia House,” by The Richmond Times Dispatch’s Graham Moomaw: “He won’t be leading the Democratic ticket as his party’s candidate for governor, but Tom Perriello will spend the rest of the 2017 election cycle working on another political dream: taking over the GOP-dominated House of Delegates. After falling short in his whirlwind gubernatorial primary run against Lt. Gov. Ralph S. Northam, the former congressman will lead a new political action committee, Win Virginia, that will provide financial and strategic support to Democratic House candidates. The PAC is expected to invest about $800,000 to help Democrats try to flip Republican-held seats.” Full story.

— "Montana governor took too long to report state plane use during campaign, top political cop says," by the Associated Press: "Montana Gov. Steve Bullock's re-election campaign violated state law by failing to make timely reports on expenses stemming from his use of a state aircraft, the state's chief political watchdog reported Thursday. Political Practices Commissioner Jeff Mangan said he was forwarding a report to the Lewis and Clark County attorney for possible prosecution, but said litigation is unlikely. Mangan told The Associated Press that he and the governor's campaign committee, Friends of Steve Bullock, were working toward a financial settlement. 'We expect to settle this with the campaign fairly quickly,' Mangan said. Bullock's spokeswoman, Ronja Abel, called the late reports a 'paperwork error' but said the committee would pay whatever the commissioner deemed an appropriate fine." Full story.

ICYMI — “The Governor of Trump’s America,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Tim Alberta: “...Iowa’s new governor is talking about the day she bottomed out—August 23, 2000, when, according to court records, she was driving south of Des Moines with an open container of alcohol (Black Velvet whiskey, per one local report) and pulled over for operating while under the influence. It was her second drunk-driving arrest in 18 months, and Reynolds, the treasurer of Clarke County (population at the time: 9,133), felt her life spiraling out of control. Sitting in a jail cell that night, ‘scared to death’ because of alcoholism’s grip on her psyche, Reynolds says she prayed: ‘I can’t do this on my own anymore. I need help.’” Full story.

PRIMARY A-BREWING — Tarkanian goes after Rosen: Republican Danny Tarkaninan, who told CNN he was considering a primary run against Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, released a press release Thursday night attacking Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen, who's considering her own challenge to Heller. He said her vote against Kate's law "protect[s] violent illegal immigrants over the safety of all us residents." He goes on to accuse her of "court[ing] the Hispanic vote" and following "the marching orders of the far left and Nancy Pelosi."

WEB WARS — Gillespie launches digital buy attacking ‘No Show Northam:’ Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie’s campaign is out with a digital ad attacking Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam for missing economic development meetings and other panels. Watch the ad here.

DESSERT — “It’s Amazing I Haven’t Ruined Myself,” Esquire profiles former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who’s flirted with a challenge to Sen. Elizabeth Warren: "My thought was, I could run for [the] Senate next year and then I would run for president after Trump's second term. I live in a country where I can say that. That's pretty fucking cool." Full story.

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Ed, if you’re listening to this: Nobody cares that your dad owned a grocery store.” — Corey Stewart to his former primary opponent Ed Gillespie, who beat him in the Virginia Republican gubernatorial primary, The Washington Post reported. He also said he had no regrets about his controversial run, adding, “we deliberately were, at times, more controversial in order to attract mainstream media, in order to attract earned media.”

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