| | | | | |  | | By Zach Montellaro and Ally Mutnick | Editor's Note: Morning Score is a free version of POLITICO Pro Campaigns' morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro .
| | | — The battle for the House in 2020 could have over a dozen reruns of 2018 races, a high number that blows past the number of rematches last cycle. — With Republicans looking to find a new home for their nominating convention, states are doing their best to sell themselves as a good landing spot. — A Colorado ethics commission found former Gov. John Hickenlooper in contempt after he refused to testify on Thursday at a virtual hearing for an investigation. Happy Friday! Ally (amutnick@politico.com; @allymutnick) noticed and wrote about a fun trend for today's Topline. Thanks, Ally! Email me at zmontellaro@politico.com, or follow me on Twitter at @ZachMontellaro. Email the rest of the Campaign Pro team at sshepard@politico.com and jarkin@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve and @JamesArkin. Days until the Georgia, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and West Virginia primaries: 4 Days until the Democratic convention: 73 Days until the Republican convention: 81 Days until the 2020 election: 151 | | | DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN — Former GOP Rep. Karen Handel is on track to breeze through her primary in GA-06 next Tuesday, setting up another 2018 battleground rematch. By the end of the primary season we could have well over a dozen of them. Handel, who lost to Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath by 1 point last fall after winning the suburban Atlanta district in a 2017 special, is one of five defeated House members making comeback bids for their old seats. Some like David Young in IA-03, Claudia Tenney in NY-22 and Scott Taylor in VA-02 are hoping that Trump voters who stayed home in 2018 will come out in full force with now that the president is back on the ballot. Meanwhile, former Rep. David Valadao is banking he can outrun the president in CA-21, a Central Valley district that Hillary Clinton won by 15 points in 2016. Rematches are also brewing in about a dozen other competitive House seats, most of which are GOP-held. Democrats Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in IL-13 and Dan Feehan in MN-01 are running again after coming within a point of beating GOP Reps. Rodney Davis and Jim Hagedorn, respectively. Carolyn Long is taking another shot Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), and Perry Gershon is mounting a second run against Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) But in a few other districts, Democratic recruiters wish the 2018 nominees would step aside. The DCCC is backing Hiral Tipirneni in AZ-06 against GOP Rep. David Schweikert over last cycle's nominee, Anita Malik. And privately some operatives hope 2018 nominees, Dana Balter and Mike Siegel, who are running against Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), respectively, lose their summer primaries to fresh faces. Republicans got a rematch they hoped to avoid last Tuesday when Yvette Herrell won the NM-02 GOP primary. Herrell lost a seat President Donald Trump won by 10 points to now-Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.). But national Republicans are excited that Young Kim is again challenging Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) in his Orange County-based district that Clinton won by 9 points. For comparison, the 2018 battleground didn't feature nearly as many rematches as 2020 is on track to host. A Score analysis found only two: Now-Rep. Angie Craig and Republican Jason Lewis in MN-02, and Democrat Gretchen Driskell and GOP Rep. Tim Walberg in MI-07. (Driskell is making a third run in 2020, but this is a reach district for Democrats.) | | | | FOR NEWS AND CONTEXT YOU NEED IN 15 MINUTES OR LESS, LISTEN IN: The coronavirus death count passed a grim milestone in the U.S. as a growing number of regions reopen parts of their economies. Unemployment claims continue to pile up as the virus continues to spread. POLITICO Dispatch is a short, daily podcast that keeps you up to date on the most important news affecting your life. Subscribe and listen today. | | | | | | | | CONVENTION SPOTTING — States are selling themselves as replacement hosts for the Republican convention. "To just rule out a convention at this stage, I think, is a mistake," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on "Fox and Friends," per POLITICO's Quint Forgey . "So we've said we want to get to 'yes' on it, and I think you'll be able to do it." More from DeSantis: "To just say no to everything, I don't think, is going to work. So we want to be able to do it, and I think we could do it in a safe way." Florida's far from alone. The Washington Examiner's David Drucker reported that "Republican leaders in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee, and Texas were furiously working the phones Wednesday" to try to land the convention. But at least some of the convention will still remain in Charlotte. Axios' Jonathan Swan and Alayna Treene reported that "the RNC's executive committee voted Wednesday night to allow most of the convention to move — with only a smaller, official portion remaining in Charlotte," and that "cities under consideration include Jacksonville, Phoenix, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta and possibly New Orleans and Savannah." — And not that there was any signal that Democrats were leaving Milwaukee, but DNC Chair Tom Perez reaffirmed that Democrats are going to hold their convention there. "We're going to put on a safe, exciting convention in Milwaukee. We will follow the science," Perez said on SiriusXM's "The Joe Madison Show". COALITION BUILDING — This week could be a major turning point for Democrats' relationship with black voters. "Democrats have urged African Americans to channel their frustrations into voting. But for younger black voters, many of whom are protesting in dozens of American cities, that requires trust in a system that they feel has done little for them or their families. Joe Biden is struggling to connect with young voters, particularly those of color, according to public and private polling — a serious problem for the former vice president that started during the presidential primary," POLITICO's Elena Schneider and Laura Barrón-López report. More: "This week's demonstrations are an inflection point for the Democratic Party that could activate these disengaged voters or further alienate them from the political process, according to more than a dozen Democratic pollsters, strategists, organizers and lawmakers. The difference-maker for Democrats in November, they said, isn't whether President Donald Trump will pull in black men at the margins — but whether Biden can convince young black voters in battleground states not to sit out the election." — The DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis, which is loaded with progressive climate activists, is pressing Biden "to back a plan to spend up to $16 trillion to speed the country away from fossil fuels," POLITICO's Zack Colman reported. ON THE AIRWAVES — America First Action, the main pro-Trump super PAC, is running ads in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania attacking Biden on the economy. The ads started today and will run through July 4 and include everything from TV to digital to mail, with $1.75 million spent in Michigan, $2.25 million in Wisconsin and $3.5 million in Pennsylvania. The Michigan ad attacks Biden on NAFTA, the Pennsylvania ad on energy jobs and Wisconsin ad on China and manufacturing jobs. THE CASH DASH — A group of big donors called Climate Leaders for Biden are raking in the dough. The group, which is led by former presidential candidate Tom Steyer, Nat Simons, Nicole Systrom, Matt Rogers and Swati Mylavarapu said in two events they've raised $7.4 million for Biden, per a pool report from BuzzFeed News' Nidhi Prakash. THE STAFF — Biden's inner circle is largely white, The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher noted. "While some black advisers have cracked Mr. Biden's upper echelon and his team is racing to expand, the people setting strategy still skew heavily white, with limited Latino and even less Asian-American representation," Shane wrote. "But the fear, even among allies, is that a lack of diverse viewpoints in Mr. Biden's brain trust could come with a long-term cost: a misinterpretation that boiling anger at Mr. Trump among black and Latino voters equates to excitement for Mr. Biden; insufficient outreach to minority groups; and — perhaps most worrisome of all — the possibility that Mr. Biden's team would take for granted that his strength with black voters in the primaries would repeat itself in November." | | | | WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME : The one thread linking the most significant challenges facing our society, economy and planet: the tension between short-term and long-term thinking. "The Long Game" is designed for executives, investors and policymakers leading the conversation about how society can thrive in the future. Engage with the sharpest minds on our biggest challenges, from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality, and the future of work. Searching for a nuanced look at these issues and possible solutions? Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | CAN'T DO THAT — Colorado's Independent Ethics Commission voted to hold Hickenlooper in contempt after he failed to appear at a virtual hearing on Thursday, defying a subpoena from the commission. Campaign Pro's James Arkin : "Hickenlooper's attorneys had fought the subpoena in court, arguing that the videoconference format of the hearing violated his due process rights in responding to the complaint. He had previously offered to appear before the commission in person. The committee hearing went ahead Thursday, however, without Hickenlooper's appearance, and will meet Friday to continue the proceeding after a unanimous vote to hold the former Democratic governor in contempt." The complaint at the root of the hearing came from a conservative nonprofit that alleged the former governor violated a state's ban against public officials receiving gifts. Hickenlooper's campaign had dismissed the complaint as a political attack. (The hometown headline from The Denver Post's Justin Wingerter: "John Hickenlooper held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoena in ethics case".) PRIMARY PROBLEMS — A pair of primaries in New York City will be a major test for progressives: Jamaal Bowman's challenge to Rep. Eliot Engel in NY-16, and a crowded open primary in NY-15 to replace Rep. José Serrano. POLITICO New York's Erin Durkin has a deep dive on both races that you should check out. NY-15 is particularly interesting, where New York City councilmember Ruben Díaz Sr., who has a long history of saying homophobic remarks, has a real shot at winning in a fractured field. (The story also touches on a couple other primaries in the city as well.) In that NY-15 race, the liberal pollster Data for Progress is out with a text-to-web and web panel poll in the district. It shows a wide open race, with Díaz Sr. at 22 percent and fellow city councilmember Ritchie Torres at 20 percent (May 21-24; 323 likely primary voters; no MOE provided). And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a full-throated endorsement to Engel. "I firmly support Eliot Engel for Congress, and I support Alexandria for Congress as well," Pelosi said on Thursday, per POLITICO's Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris. (She was referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently backed Bowman.) "I think the people of New York are very blessed to have them both in the Congress." ON THE AIRWAVES — Republican John James, who is running for the Senate in Michigan, is out with a pair of ads. Both ads have James speaking directly to camera and talking about the police killing of George Floyd. "So cable news needs us to believe that America's divided, that we're at war with one another, " he says in one ad. "But I don't buy it, and neither should you." In the second ad, James says "The murder of George Floyd was an evil act of cowardness, and the looting and burning of our cities dishonors the cause of justice," he says, calling for unity and leadership. — Democrat Theresa Greenfield released her first general election TV ad. It is a positive bio spot that talks about her growing up working on a farm. — Rep. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) is out with a new ad ahead of the Senate primary. The ad features Trump praising him at a rally (Trump has not endorsed in the race), and former Sen. Bob Dole saying he has the "best interests of Kansas at heart." — Republican Wesley Hunt, who is running in TX-07, is out with a new ad , talking about why he's running. "From slavery to West Point in just five generations, that's our story. But it is also America's story," he says in the ad, referencing his great-great-grandfather. "We preserve. We advance. We do the impossible." — Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush, who is running for a second time in CO-03 (another potential rematch!), is out with her first television ad of the cycle, ahead of a June 30 primary. The ad is a positive bio spot. THE PROCESS — A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit of Appeals blocked a lower court's ruling that would have allowed all Texans to vote by mail, per The Texas Tribune's Alexa Ura. This case sure seems headed for the U.S. Supreme Court. — A judge in Nashville ruled that any voter in Tennessee should be allowed to cast a ballot by mail, the Nashville Tennessean's Brett Kelman reported. ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Trump has backed a candidate in the NC-11 GOP primary runoff, to fill the seat of his now-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The president backed Lynda Bennett, who has also been endorsed by Meadows. CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: "In South Jersey, we're dominated by a machine that doesn't give anyone else a fair shot. But Amy does have a shot because her last name is Kennedy." — Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), about his wife Amy Kennedy's Democratic primary bid in NJ-02, to the New Jersey Globe. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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