This story was originally posted on Politico.

With Kevin Robillard, Scott Bland and Theodoric Meyer

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. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

THE STATE OF THE UNION — “President Barack Obama offered a broad defense of his administration on Tuesday, delivering what amounted to a valedictory address for his final State of the Union, while offering a pointed critique of Donald Trump and other Republicans who he says are “peddling fiction” about the nation’s health. http://politi.co/1mUeGQN

2016 field reacts to the president’s final #SOTU: @realDonaldTrump: “The #SOTU speech is really boring, slow, lethargic – very hard to watch!”

@HillaryClinton: “Seven years of progress. We need to build on it–not go backwards. #SOTU”

@RandPaul: “I just yelled ‘you lie’ really loud. Good thing I’m not there. #SOTU”

@GovMikeHuckabee: “Looks like @SpeakerRyan would rather chaperon a Six Flags field trip with El Chapo than listen to more of this speech. #SOTU”

@JohnKasich: “The world is calling on America to lead, but President Obama hasn’t picked up the phone. Let’s lead.”

@JebBush: “It appears Obama is still under the impression ISIS is the JV team. Next President must understand the enemy and the threat. #SOTU”

CLINTON’S #SOTU-INSPIRED AD — “New Clinton ad praises Obama on gun control,” by POLITICO’s Gabriel Debenedetti: “Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign released a new ad tied to the State of the Union Tuesday night, praising President Barack Obama’s gun policies on Tuesday night as the president began his address. The 30-second ad, which will run digitally during Obama’s speech and on national cable in Iowa and New Hampshire starting on Wednesday, features Clinton talking straight to the camera. …Clinton’s mention of gun manufacturers is an implicit contrast with primary opponent Bernie Sanders’ 2005 vote to limit gun manufacturers’ liability — a major recent criticism that she has leveled at the Vermont senator.” http://politi.co/1ShplSJ

— SHE’S NOT ALONE — Two House Democratic candidates are taking the president’s cues on gun restrictions, too: Kathleen Matthews will go up with gun safety-themed radio ads that will run on WTOP during “morning and evening commutes,” according to the campaign statement. Listen to the ad here: http://bit.ly/1UNkxT1 Former Rep. Brad Schneider, who’s aiming for a rematch with GOP Rep. Bob Dold, has also released ad emphasizing his commitment to gun safety. Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1W5J72L

— OBAMA PLEDGES ELECTION-REFORM PUSH — The president promised to campaign personally for reform efforts on gerrymandering and campaign finance: “We have to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around. We have to reduce the influence of money in our politics, so that a handful of families and hidden interests can’t bankroll our elections … We’ve got to make voting easier, not harder, and modernize it for the way we live now. And over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push for reforms that do.”

— ONE TO WATCH — Will the president end up supporting a ballot measure transferring state legislative redistricting power to an independent commission in his home state of Illinois? The effort, Support Independent Maps, is aiming to gather over a half-million petition signatures to get on the 2016 ballot.

Days until the Iowa caucuses: 19. Days until the 2016 election: 300.

Thanks for joining us. You can email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, tmeyer@politico.com and kcheney@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about Kyle Chandler: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @kyledcheney.

FIRST IN SCORE — 60 percent undecided in internal Colorado Senate robopoll — Republican Ryan Frazier’s campaign released an internal poll from Harper Polling showing Frazier, a former Aurora city councilman and political television pundit, leading a crowded primary pack with 18 percent of the GOP vote. State Sen. Tim Neville comes in second with 7 percent, followed by businessman Robert Blaha with 6 percent. Darryl Glenn, an El Paso County Commissioner, and state Rep. Jon Keyser get 5 and 4 percent, respectively. But 60 percent of voters are still undecided. The results largely match the candidates’ name recognition. Harper Polling conducted the survey of 590 voters from Jan. 6-7. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

FOURTH QUARTER NUMBERS — CA-24: Justin Fareed, a Republican running to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Lois Capps, raised $400,000 in the final quarter, nearly doubling his third quarter total, according to a statement from the campaign.

VA-10: GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock raised $527,000 in the fourth quarter, but has not yet released her cash on hand amount, the Washington Post reported. http://wapo.st/1PolzAN

More VA-10: LuAnn Bennett, a Democrat challenging GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock, raised $281,000 in the fourth quarter, with $265,000 in cash on hand, according to a statement from the campaign.

Illinois: GOP Sen. Mark Kirk raised just over $1 million in the final quarter, with $3.8 million in cash-on-hand, a slim lead over his likely Democratic opponent, Campaign Pro reported. http://politico.pro/1JJjRgM

Ohio: Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland raised just $1.05 million in the fourth quarter, his campaign announced, leaving him with just over $2 million on hand, Campaign Pro reported. http://politico.pro/1Ppz9nu

INDIANA DEMS: PENCE “DOUBLED DOWN” ON DISCRIMINATION — Indiana GOP Gov. Mike Pence used his State of the State address to reiterate that he wouldn’t risk infringing on religious freedom in order to pass laws protecting gay rights, but left the details up to the state legislature. “”I will not support any bill that diminishes the religious freedom of Hoosiers or that interferes with the Constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in worship, service or work,” Pence said. Democrats predictably used the opportunity to attack Pence for continuing to harm Indiana’s economy by refusing to side with the business community in the state.

— When he signed RFRA last year, Mike Pence threw Indiana directly into a $250 million economic panic,” Indiana Democratic Party communications director Drew Anderson said. “Mike Pence doesn’t ‘abhor discrimination’ – he actively promotes it, and that is why Indiana’s ‘Hoosier Hospitality’ reputation is in jeopardy.”

FIRST IN SCORE — STAFFING UP — Conservative nonprofit American Action Network and its sister super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, hired Brian Lyle, a veteran digital operative, to serve as its chief marketing officer, according to a statement from the groups. Lyle will “lead digital strategy for a robust digital operation in both issue advocacy advertising and independent expenditures,” the statement reads.

CONSERVATIVE NODS — “Senate Conservatives Fund, Club for Growth endorse four”: http://politico.pro/1Oh8Ty6

— FIRST IN SCORE — NC-02 challenger Jim Duncan picked up another conservative endorsement from Citizens United Political Victory Fund, saying that Ellmers “succumbed to the broken ways of the Washington establishment,” in a statement.

Join NFL Network and POLITICO for a screening of NFL Film’s production of America’s Game and the Iran Hostage Crisis. The screening will be followed by a panel conversation discussing the film and current events featuring Director and Executive Producer Tate Donovan, American reporter in Iran during the hostage crisis Alex Paen and U.S. Marine held hostage in Iran during the crisis Rocky Sickmann. Thursday, January 14, 6-8 p.m., The Newseum. RSVP: http://bit.ly/1ZQv5UM

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ — “Pollster: Cruz would hurt Republican House hopefuls most,” by POLITICO’s Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: “A leading Republican pollster privately told Speaker Paul Ryan and his leadership team Sen. Ted Cruz would be the biggest drag on House Republicans should he win his party’s nomination … During the gathering in Annapolis, Maryland, Dave Sackett of the Tarrance Group reviewed a recent poll he conducted for the National Republican Congressional Committee that described internal party data, including how voters feel about Donald Trump’s calls to temporarily bar Muslims from entering the U.S. and to deport undocumented immigrants. … Ryan (R-Wis.) asked Sackett which of the Republican presidential hopefuls would be most detrimental to GOP House candidates on the ballot this year. Sackett replied that Cruz would have the biggest negative effect, citing the Texas senator’s starkly ideological positions, according to six sources who were in the meeting. Sackett told the group that the public’s perception of Cruz could shift if he becomes the nominee.” http://politi.co/1TUioVk

— “New attack ads call Marco Rubio a flip-flopper on immigration,” by the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman and Ashley Parker: “Late Tuesday, a ‘super PAC’ supporting Senator Ted Cruz released a long-awaited ad yoking Mr. Rubio to Mr. Schumer and Mr. Obama, citing Mr. Rubio’s work on the so-called Gang of Eight effort at comprehensive immigration legislation in 2013. … The ad from the group backing Mr. Cruz is so far running only online, but it is potentially damaging to Mr. Rubio in how it uses his comments from 2013 — interspersed with those from Mr. Obama and Mr. Schumer — in describing both Mr. Rubio’s role in the effort and the bill itself. It opens with Mr. Obama speaking behind a lectern, saying, Yesterday, a bipartisan group of senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I proposed and campaigned on for the last few years.’” http://nyti.ms/1PqzGpt

— “Sanders bests Clinton in new early state polls,” by POLITICO’s Nick Gass and Gabriel Debenedetti: The intensifying rivalry between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders spiked a few degrees on Tuesday with two new polls showing the Vermont senator catching fire in not only his regional stomping ground of New Hampshire but also in Iowa, where Clinton enjoyed a double-digit lead as late as mid-December. Monmouth University’s survey of likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters out Tuesday showed 53 percent expressing support for Sanders, compared to 39 percent for Clinton. In Iowa, Sanders recorded his first victory over Clinton in a Quinnipiac poll released later in the day, grabbing 49 percent to her 44 percent. The latest NBC News/Marist/Wall Street Journal poll conducted between Jan. 2-7 and released on Sunday suggested a race within the margin of error, with Clinton holding a lead of 48 percent to 45 percent.” http://politi.co/1Oqa3Fo

— “Cruz goes after Trump: ‘Donald seems to be a little bit rattled,’” by POLITICO’s Katie Glueck in Hudson, N.H.: “Ted Cruz on Tuesday offered some of his sharpest attacks on Donald Trump yet, telling a Boston radio host that the real estate mogul seemed “a little bit rattled” by his rise in the polls, accusing Trump of “attacking” his faith and blasting the repeated questions about his Canadian origins as aimed at helping Democrats. Asked by host Howie Carr about Trump’s use of “Born in the USA” at his rallies, Cruz said, “Well, look, I think he may shift in his new rallies to play ‘New York, New York’, because, you know, Donald comes from New York and he embodies New York values.” Trump for the last week had been “unloading at every stop with direct attacks,” added Cruz, who said he didn’t “intend to respond or reciprocate.” http://politi.co/1OpQGfB

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’ve also learned from other people, you never say never,” said former North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan on a possible return to politics, Roll Call reported. (Campaign Pro believes Hagan is most likely referring to Justin Bieber.) http://bit.ly/1ZseR7I