| | | | | |  | | By Stephanie Murray | Presented by Babbel | Editor's Note: Weekly Score is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro's daily Campaigns policy newsletter, Morning Score. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that 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. | | | — Big-name Republican donors are giving eye-popping sums to a pro-Sen. Tim Scott super PAC, and the South Carolina lawmaker is investing heavily in his own small-dollar fundraising operation. — Democrats see the Pennsylvania Senate race as a top pickup opportunity next year, but they're divided on which candidate has the best chance to turn the seat blue. — Former President Donald Trump and his allies are sticking by Alaska Republican Kelly Tshibaka, even as former Gov. Sarah Palin muses about launching her own challenge to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Good Monday morning. Email me at smurray@politico.com and follow me on Twitter at @stephanie_murr. Email the rest of the POLITICO Campaigns team at sshepard@politico.com, zmontellaro@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and amutnick@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve, @ZachMontellaro, @JamesArkin and @allymutnick. Days until the California recall: 36 Days until the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections, the OH-11 and OH-15 special elections and the FL-20 special primary: 85 Days until the 2022 midterm elections: 456 Days until the 2024 election: 1,188 | | | | A message from Babbel: Take live online classes with top language teachers. Start speaking a new language with Babbel Live - live online classes limited to six students. Choose a topic and level and then schedule a time that works for you. Plus, you'll get full access to the Babbel App! Sign up now to get up 60% off. | | | | | | | 
South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has quietly built a massive fundraising operation ahead of a potential 2024 presidential campaign. | Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images | MONEY MOVES — Scott has quietly built a massive political fundraising operation, courting megadonors and growing his online donor base over the past year. The behind-the-scenes moves could aid Scott, not just for his 2022 reelection — but in building his national profile by helping other Republicans next year ahead of a potential 2024 run for president, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt wrote. The pro-Scott Opportunity Matters Fund super PAC has attracted donors like tech mogul Larry Ellison, who gave $10 million to the group. The contribution is Ellison's largest in his three decades as a political donor, and his cash accounts for 75 percent of the more than $13 million the PAC has raised since its founding. The PAC has also drawn support from conservative donors like Richard Gaby, and more mainstream givers like New York hedge fund manager Dan Loeb. The PAC's second-largest donor is Las Vegas casino billionaire Steve Wynn, and the third-largest sum came from South Carolina businessperson Ben Navarro and his wife, Kelly. "I definitely consider Tim to be someone who has the integrity and experience to be president of the United States," Bay Area-based investor Bill Oberndorf, who gave $200,000 to the pro-Scott super PAC, told Alex. Beyond the big-dollar donors, Scott's campaign committee has also raised $11.7 million from 91,000 donors, pulling in more than any incumbent up for reelection in 2022. He doubled Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) fundraising total in the second quarter of the year, raking in $9.6 million. Scott has invested heavily in his online operation. He paid digital firm Targeted Victory $2.5 million to help, and pushed hard to raise cash around the time of his rebuttal to President Joe Biden's congressional address earlier this year. Cultivating a small-dollar donor base could bolster Scott's 2024 ambitions. But in the more immediate future, it could also scare off a well-funded Democratic challenger, avoiding the scenario Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) faced last year. | | | |   | | | | | | THE KEYSTONE STATE — Democrats are dividing the crowded Pennsylvania Senate primary in a way that defies traditional primary lanes, POLITICO's James Arkin reports. Moderate Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) hails from Western Pennsylvania, similar to progressive Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Meanwhile, progressive state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh both hail from the Philadelphia area. The packed field has Democrats on edge in the Keystone State, which flipped from Trump to President Joe Biden last year. The state represents one of the best pickup opportunities for the party to win control of the 50-50 Senate. Or, to put it more bluntly: "That is a race that we just cannot afford to f--- up," one Democratic operative told James. THE LAST FRONTIER — Trumpworld is renewing its support for Tshibaka, even as former Palin weighs her own challenge to Murkowski, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt wrote. Trump endorsed Tshibaka's primary campaign against Murkowsi, one of his top political enemies, and has pledged to campaign in-state against the incumbent. Neither Trump nor his son, Donald Trump Jr., have spoken negatively of Palin, who backed Trump in the 2016 primary. But if Palin does run, she could complicate the ex-president's goal of unseating Murkowski, particularly in the state's unusual all-party primary system. EXCLUSIVE: OLD DOMINION — Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's campaign is hitting Republican Glenn Youngkin in a new digital ad. The 30-second spot highlights Youngkin's ties to Trump, who endorsed him earlier this year. "We've come too far to let Glenn Youngkin take us backwards," the ad says, noting McAuliffe is focused on jobs, raising wages and rebuilding after the pandemic. The campaign did not say how much it will spend to promote the ad. GETTING IN — Wisconsin Democrat Darrell Williams jumped into the crowded Senate primary last Friday, The Associated Press reported. Williams is the state emergency management administrator. The packed primary race includes Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, radiologist Gillian Battino and Milwaukee Ald. Chantia Lewis. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) hasn't said whether he will seek another term. — Georgia Republican Burt Jones, who has loudly questioned the 2020 election results, is running for lieutenant governor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Maya Prabhu wrote. At a recent state Republican gathering, Jones highlighted "how he was one of the few state senators to call for a special legislative session to probe Donald Trump's defeat, a move that could have paved the way to an attempt to invalidate Joe Biden's victory." Jones was stripped of a state Senate chairmanship after signing onto an amicus brief supporting Texas' attempt to overturn election results. He had considered challenging GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. At the gathering of the Floyd County GOP, Kemp received some applause and some boos from the audience, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein noted, and struggled to be heard over the noise at times. One notable Republican who didn't attend: Herschel Walker, who is considering a Senate campaign. THE EMPIRE STATE — New York elected officials are already preparing for life after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's impeachment, just days after state Attorney General Tish James released a report that found the governor had sexually harassed multiple women. New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking advice on potential first steps in office if Cuomo resigns or is removed and she takes over the state, according to The Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind. Albany lawmakers are working on their impeachment inquiry. | | | | Be a Policy Pro. POLITICO Pro has a free policy resource center filled with our best practices on building relationships with state and federal representatives, demonstrating ROI, and influencing policy through digital storytelling. Read our free guides today . | | | | | (RE)CALL ME MAYBE — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and conservative commentator Larry Elder are the top fundraisers ahead of the Sept. 14 recall, POLITICO California's Jeremy White reported. Newsom has raised at least $45 million since the start of 2021, far outpacing any of his Republican challengers. Elder leads the GOP field, collecting nearly $4.5 million in July after declaring his campaign and another $440,000 in the beginning of August. — Speaking of the recall, the state Republican Party will not endorse a candidate, the Los Angeles Times' Seema Mehta wrote. Party delegates voted against endorsing a single Republican, a move critics said would protect former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. The Republican former mayor initially supported the party endorsing a candidate, but urged delegates at the last minute to vote against the effort, which some attributed to Elder's newly-launched campaign. BIDEN TIME — With the 2022 midterms looming, Democratic governors are playing up their relationships with Biden, touting his signature American Rescue Plan package, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro reported. Democrats are haunted by the 2010 midterms, when former President Barack Obama failed to sell his $790 billion economic stimulus package and Democrats got whacked — including losing six governorships. McAuliffe, who is running to reclaim his old job, already hosted Biden at a campaign rally last month. NOTABLE FLOATABLES — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out a challenge to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in New York next year, saying "we shall see" about her 2022 plans in a new CNN series . "I can't operate the way that I operate and do the things that I do in politics while trying to be aspiring to other things or calculating to other things," Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview, and noted she has been working closely with Schumer on legislation. — Nevada Republican Dean Heller could announce a campaign for governor early next month, according to KSNV'S Jeff Gillan . Heller's campaign told the station to expect a "very early September announcement" from the former state senator. The Republicans already running against Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak are Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, attorney Joey Gilbert and North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee. — Kentucky Republican Kelly Knight Craft, former U.S. representative to the United Nations, is "seriously considering" running for governor in 2023, and GOP state Rep. Savannah Maddox plans to run, the Lexington Herald-Leader's Bill Estep reported from the annual Fancy Farm political event this weekend. State Auditor Mike Harmon is already in the race. Somerset Mayor Alan Keck, another Republican, is also weighing a campaign against Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. — Massachusetts Democrat Jesse Mermell is considering a rematch against Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), the Boston Globe's Jasper Goodman wrote. Auchincloss narrowly beat Mermell in a crowded Democratic primary last year. The seat, which will be redrawn, was previously held by Democrat Joe Kennedy III. THE PROCESS — Wisconsin state lawmakers are moving toward an Arizona-style "audit" of the 2020 election, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro reported. The chair of the Wisconsin state Assembly's elections committee subpoenaed election materials from two large counties, including ballots and voting machines, although it's not clear whether the subpoenas are valid because they were not issued by the speaker of the chamber. Some info on the two counties: "President Joe Biden carried Milwaukee County by a steep margin en route to narrowly winning the state. Former President Donald Trump carried Brown County, which is home to Green Bay, by about 7 percentage points." | | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | THE GRANITE STATE — RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is encouraging New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to run for Senate, WMUR's John DiStaso reported. "I would love for him to run," McDaneil said. "Obviously, I think he'd be a great candidate. The RNC would have to stay neutral, that's our role." Sununu has said he won't decide until the fall or winter whether to challenge Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). STAFFING UP — Kentucky Democrat Charles Booker hired Georgia operative Bianca Keaton as campaign manager for his Senate bid, McClatchy's David Catanese wrote. Keaton chaired the Gwinnett County Democratic Party in Georgia. Booker, who lost narrowly to Democrat Amy McGrath last year, is challenging Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). MEET THE PRESS — Maryland Republican Daniel Cox kicked reporters out of his gubernatorial campaign launch, Maryland Matters' Hannah Gaskill reports. A staffer for the pro-Trump candidate said only ticketed guests were allowed inside the kick-off event, and tickets raned from $35 to $6,000. Cox, a state lawmaker, is running to replace term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan. CODA — HEADLINE OF THE DAY — "Republican official says she was blocked from vote after congratulating a Democrat" — The Wichita Eagle | | | | A message from Babbel: Take live online classes with top language teachers.
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