Democrats drop Merrick Garland as the campaign heads into fall

With Theodoric Meyer, Scott Bland 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. (https://subscriber.politicopro.com/proinfo)


INVISIBLE MAN — “ Merrick Garland MIA on campaign trail,” by POLITICO’s Seung Min Kim and Kevin Robillard: “For months, Democrats touted the GOP's Supreme Court blockade as a major political liability that would help turn the Senate majority in their favor. But for all their tough talk, Merrick Garland has basically disappeared from the Senate campaign trail. The air wars over Garland have largely gone silent, with no Senate Democratic candidates having run television ads invoking the unprecedented Republican blockade of Garland. And some Senate Republicans have actually turned the tables, using the court to motivate their own base. ... Of the two dozen Senate Democrats and candidates vying to join them who appeared on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, none mentioned Garland nor the current Republican obstruction of his nomination, according to a review of prepared remarks.” http://politi.co/2cJIwrD

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING — “Republicans rush to save candidates from Trump wipeout,” by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt: Republicans are scrambling to protect a growing number of down-ballot candidates — including several in conservative bastions — who they fear could be swamped by a Donald Trump wipeout in November. Nearly a dozen GOP strategists said in interviews this week that they are taking steps to buttress Republicans in strongholds where private polling shows Trump — his recent uptick notwithstanding — is threatening to drag down candidates running beneath him. ...It isn't just Trump's public image that threatens to impede Republicans running down-ballot; the lack of political infrastructure Trump has developed could also become an anchor. While congressional and state-level contenders — including those running in red territory — typically rely on presidential nominees to bring Republican voters out to the polls, this year they won't be able to.” http://politi.co/2c2OpAp

THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT (CYCLE) — Canova considering “options,” files 2018 FEC paperwork: Tim Canova, Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's 2016 primary challenger, is considering another run in 2018 as well as "other options" and has filed a 2018 statement of candidacy with the FEC to reauthorize his fundraising committee. "I have not decided to run officially. Yes, I am considering another run for this House seat, as well as a number of other options," Canova wrote in an email. "This helps in that transition." http://politico.pro/2bXr2H2

— Wasserman Schultz spokesman Jon Reinish added: “Focusing on 2018, which is a long way off, distracts us from far more urgent and timely priorities - like making sure Donald Trump gets nowhere near the White House."

Days until the 2016 election: 60.

Days until the New Hampshire and Delaware congressional primaries: 4.

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AGREE TO DISAGREE — “NRCC chair Walden: Clinton winning battleground House districts,” by Campaign Pro’s Theodoric Meyer: “House Republicans are poised to maintain the majority, NRCC Chairman Greg Walden said Thursday, even though Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump on average in the two dozen most competitive districts around the country. Internal polling conducted for the NRCC over the past three weeks in 24 battleground House races shows Trump trailing Clinton by an average of 2 percentage points when Gary Johnson and Jill Stein are included, Walden said at an event at the National Press Club. But the Republican candidates in those races are leading their Democratic rivals, on average, 49 percent to 39 percent. The polling is evidence that Republicans can limit their losses in the House even if Clinton does well in many battleground districts, Walden said.” http://politico.pro/2cFgMjO

— MEANWHILE — “ Pelosi: Democrats could take the House,” by POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: “Nancy Pelosi has been extraordinarily cautious about saying her party would take back the House majority. But now, just two months before Election Day, the House minority leader says the Republican Party’s persistent struggles have put Democrats within striking distance and control of the chamber could be decided by the slimmest of margins.” http://politi.co/2cronDe

WAAAY DOWNBALLOT — Bloomberg dumps $1.5 million into Bay Area soda tax measures: Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has given over $1.5 million in the last two weeks to ballot measures in San Francisco and Oakland that would impose a 1 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks, according to California's campaign finance database. Bloomberg had already given $150,000 to the San Francisco effort this spring, one in a series of local ballot measures seeking to impose soda taxes in the years since Bloomberg’s failed effort to cap the size of sugary drinks sold in New York City brought the issue to the forefront of public health issues. (Background here from POLITICO's Helena Bottemiller Evich: http://politi.co/2buU5Ni.)

NEW THIS MORNING — Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold’s campaign is out with a memo arguing GOP Sen. Ron Johnson is actually running behind his party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump. “Many Republican Senate candidates are having difficulties as Trump drags their poll numbers down; but Senator Johnson is the only one running WORSE than ‘The Donald,’” campaign manager Tom Russell writes. http://politico.pro/2c9XZxs

ICYMI — “Campaign Pro's afternoon ad roundup,” by Campaign Pro’s Theodoric Meyer: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee is out with new attack ads in Nevada and Ohio. Senate Majority PAC is on the offensive against GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire. Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun violence super PAC is on the air supporting GOP Sen. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania. And several House candidates are out with new spots, including a tough ad from Democrat Josh Gottheimer in New Jersey. http://politico.pro/2csW7Ag

— Comstock airing first ad: Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock’s first television ad, a 30-second spot featuring her daughter Caity, begins airing today in Virginia. The ad is backed by a $100,000 buy. “My mother has always been there for our family and brings the same commitment to all the families she represents in Congress,” Caity says in the ad before listing Comstock’s accomplishments on Congress on human trafficking, heroin and other issues. “People call her hard working…but I just call her, Mom.” Watch the ad: http://bit.ly/2ce1T9m

POLLING DATA — In North Carolina … “Donald Trump holds a slight lead over Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, according to a new [ Suffolk] poll released today that also gives incumbent GOP Sen. Richard Burr a modest advantage over Democrat Deborah Ross in the closely watched Senate race. ...In the Senate race, Burr leads Ross, 41 percent to 37 percent. But a combined 22 percent are undecided, refused to answer or chose the Libertarian candidate, suggesting Burr's reelection is far from secure,” POLITICO’s Steven Shepard reported.

“IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY” — Sheriff calls on McCain to stop airing ad: Navajo County Sheriff K.C. Clark is calling on GOP Sen. John McCain’s campaign to stop airing an ad featuring footage of Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick leaving a constituent event. The ad criticizes Kirkpatrick for “walking out on constituents when questioned about it. But Clark said in a statement put out by Kirkpatrick’s campaign that he asked Kirkpatrick to leave the 2009 event after an angry crowd gathered and he “felt the situation had gotten out of control.” If the McCain campaign continues to air the ad, he added, TV stations should stop running it “in the interest of public safety.” The McCain campaign responded by noting that Clark made no mention of any safety concerns in his comments to a local paper at the time. “Congresswoman Kirkpatrick and her political ally Sheriff K.C. Clark are attempting to rewrite history as a bogus political stunt to distract voters from Kirkpatrick’s liberal record,” Lorna Romero, a campaign spokeswoman, said in a statement.

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ — “Donald Trump’s Campaign Stands By Embrace of Putin,” by The New York Times’ Jonathan Martin and Amy Chozick: “ Donald J. Trump’s campaign on Thursday reaffirmed its extraordinary embrace of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, signaling a preference for the leadership of an authoritarian adversary over that of America’s own president, despite a cascade of criticism from Democrats and expressions of discomfort among Republicans. ‘I think it’s inarguable that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country,’ said Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana on CNN, defending Mr. Trump by echoing his latest praise for the Russian leader, offered Wednesday night in a televised candidate forum.” http://nyti.ms/2bWSiFI

— “Trump's cut-and-paste policy,” by POLITICO’s Eli Stokols: “When Donald Trump needed a list of potential Supreme Court nominees, he borrowed one from the Heritage Foundation. His proposals on reforming the nation's tax code and improving services for veterans appear to have been lifted almost verbatim from those of primary rival Jeb Bush. And in 39 minutes of remarks Thursday, he lifted education proposals core to Mitt Romney's 2012 platform and a plan that bears notable resemblance to a 2014 bill introduced by Lamar Alexander. …’They're faking it and they're doing a good job faking it,’ said Tim Miller, who was a communications adviser to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, which invested heavily in a policy shop. ‘They realize people weren't taking him seriously and he has to do better with college educated white voters. He doesn't know anything about it. I would be stunned if he could name a single person on his Supreme Court list.’” http://politi.co/2cmKCNu

— “Trump attacks U.S. foreign policy, political press corps on state-owned Russian television network,” by The Washington Post’s Jose A. DelReal: “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized U.S. foreign policy and the American political press corps Thursday during an interview on RT America, a state-owned Russian television network. In a wide-ranging interview that aired Thursday evening, Trump spoke with journalist Larry King about the presidential race, American intervention in Iraq and the Middle East, and the potential intrusion by Russian hackers into Democratic Party databases. RT, which airs in several countries in English and Russian, is funded by the Russian government; though it characterizes itself as independent, the network has been regularly accused of pro-Kremlin bias.” http://wapo.st/2cGtXRy

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I wouldn’t say I was the fastest guy down the skyscraper, but I’d like to say I had some ballet moves up there.” — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who rappelled down a 32-story building in Denver Thursday to raise money to fight cancer, via The Denver Post. http://dpo.st/2cbsqBT

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