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03/13/2019 10:00 AM EDT

By ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Score is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Campaigns Pro subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

QUICK FIX
- The Democratic presidential primary field has been racing to shun big money in politics, but not all candidates can afford to rely solely on the power of small donors.

- Former Vice President Joe Biden gave a speech Tuesday with the biggest indicator yet that he will run for president. But he still hasn't officially jumped in.

- Federal investigators are digging into election fraud allegations in NC-09, as Democrat Dan McCready formally filed to run. But don't sleep on NC-03's special election, where one Republican candidate has already raised over $200,000.

Good Wednesday morning. Brexit! Maybe? Who knows! Email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the Campaign Pro team at sshepard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and lbarron-lopez@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @lbarronlopez.

Days until the NC-03 primary election: 48

Days until the NC-09 primary election: 62

Days until the Kentucky and Mississippi general elections: 237

Days until the 2020 election: 601
THE TOPLINES
THE CASH DASH - Democratic presidential hopefuls need a lot of money to run a national primary campaign. At the same time, they largely want to appear like they aren't beholden to big donors to get that money.

"Few candidates can attract hundreds of thousands of online donors and free themselves from soliciting big checks at this point," POLITICO's Maggie Severns reported. "Most Democratic candidates are regularly attending high-dollar fundraisers in between campaign rallies and congressional votes, and there's intense but covert competition among them to lock in major donors' support ahead of rivals."

"The [Jay] Inslee super PAC: Why does somebody need that? Because nobody knows his name," former Obama deputy finance director Ami Copeland told Maggie. "You can't run a campaign based on a super PAC, but a super PAC can be used to jump start a campaign and build in people's minds and go from there." Some, like Biden, are trying to strike a balance. His PAC tried to build up his presence online last cycle, but he has also spoken about a run with major donors as well, Maggie wrote.

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IN THE TRENCHES
PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - Biden gave his biggest hint yet that he is running for president. The former vice president was greeted by chants of "Run, Joe, Run!" before a speech at the International Association of Fire Fighters' legislative conference. In response, Biden essentially signaled an announcement is pending. "You know, I'd like you all to know I appreciate the energy you showed when I got up here," Biden said. "Save it a little longer. I might need it in a few weeks." He also criticized President Donald Trump's budget, POLITICO's Nolan McCaskill reported.

Lawmakers are also intimating that Biden will run. A "senior Democratic lawmaker" told The Hill's Scott Wong and Amie Parnes that Biden said in a phone call that "I'm giving it a shot," but a Biden spokesperson denied the story.

- South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised $600,000 from over 22,000 donors in 24 hours after a CNN town hall appearance, CNN's Dan Merica reported.

- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced a series of senior hires in Iowa and New Hampshire. Misty Rebik will be state director in Iowa and Joe Caiazzo will be state director in New Hampshire.

- Activists hoping to push a particular liberal policy prescription have found luck in the Democratic presidential field, with candidates trying to establish progressive bona fides, The New York Times' Sydney Ember and Astead W. Herndon reported.

- Former President Jimmy Carter has seen his image rehabilitated among Democrats in an era where the party is trying to draw a sharp contrast to Trump, POLITICO's David Siders reported.

NC-09, FOREVER - Federal officials are investigating the election fraud in NC-09. The state board of elections received a subpoena from the Department of Justice. Board Executive Director Kim Westbrook Strach said in a statement it is "prepared to assist" the investigation. Republican Mark Harris has also been subpoenaed by DOJ, per WSOC's Michael Stolp.

- McCready was the only person to file to run Tuesday. Republican state Sen. Fern Shubert's surprising entrance into the race jolted the Republican field, The News & Observer's Jim Morrill and Ely Portillo reported. Stony Rushing, whom Harris has endorsed, was expected to be the only candidate from Union County until Shubert's entry, which could potentially split the electorate in the county.

- Republicans are concerned that a wide GOP primary could give McCready a head start. "There's no doubt about it. They have a big step up in both money and a confirmed candidate," former Gov. Pat McCrory told National Journal's Ally Mutnick.

THE OTHER NORTH CAROLINA SPECIAL - State Rep. Greg Murphy, one of the 17(!) Republicans running in the NC-03 special election primary, has already raised a boatload of cash. His campaign manager, Doug Raymond, told Score that Murphy has brought in $204,000 from donors in the two weeks since the campaign launched. Raymond said the money, which was raised from personal asks from the campaign, will be used to bolster field operations in what he expects will be a low-turnout election. "If this was a traditional election, I'd be doing backflips because we'd be buying up TV and [doing] mail," Raymond said. "But this is a get-out-the-vote race."

FIRST IN SCORE - STAFFING UP - The Nevada Democratic Party has hired Shelby Wiltz to be the 2020 caucus director, the earliest in an election cycle it's ever brought on a caucus director.

WEB WARS - Guess who launched a Facebook ad campaign? Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke. He's running dozens and dozens of variations of an acquisition ad that says "Beto's ready to share his plans for 2020" and asks people to sign up for his list to find out more. We'll know more about the buy behind this next week.

- O'Rourke is set to announce he's running this week, skipping an exploratory committee, CNN's Eric Bradner, Jeff Zeleny, Leyla Santiago and David Wright reported. POLITICO's David Siders also reported that O'Rourke's weekend Iowa trip will be an extended, multiday trip.

MONEY MONEY MONEY - Hillary Clinton is hosting a dinner fundraiser for the DNC later this month, POLITICO's Maggie Severns reported.

THE HOUSE BATTLEGROUND - Democrats are eyeing TX-24 as a potential pickup opportunity. Kim Olson, the Democratic agriculture commissioner nominee in 2018, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Andrea Drusch that she's "seriously considering" the race, while Jan McDowell, who lost by just 3 points to GOP Rep. Kenny Marchant in the midterms despite getting no national help, is running again.

THE SENATE MAP - The Ditch Mitch Fund, a liberal PAC, is trying to draft former KY-06 candidate Amy McGrath into running against Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. "In addition to [launching a] website and digital ads, Ditch Mitch Fund is pledging that any money it raises will be immediately transferred to McGrath's future campaign if she decides to run," the Louisville Courier Journal's Phillip Bailey wrote. The group said the draft McGrath effort brought in donations from all 50 states in its first 24 hours.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It feels kind of normal, in a weird way. ... They're just people," Eric Giddens, who is running for an Iowa state Senate seat, on the attention he's getting from presidential hopefuls, via the AP.

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