Cornyn and Castro squabble in potential Texas Senate preview

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— Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has already taken his first shot at potential challenger Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas), about a year out from the primaries.

— Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke brought in $6.1 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate, setting a new high watermark for early presidential fundraising.

— The Supreme Court appeared divided Monday over whether to reinstate Virginia’s GOP-drawn state House map, in a case that could set a precedent for race-based redistricting.

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Days until the NC-03 primary election: 42

Days until the NC-09 primary election: 56

Days until the Kentucky and Mississippi general elections: 231

Days until the 2020 election: 595

TEXAS STANDOFF — Castro hasn’t officially said he is challenging Cornyn (yet), but the sniping between the two camps has already started.

“I happen to think that somebody who votes 97 percent of the time with Nancy Pelosi is not going to do very well in Texas,” Cornyn told KTSA’s Jack Riccardi on Monday. “Congressman Castro votes to the left of Beto O’Rourke, and I just don’t think it’s going to work.”

“I think it is going to be a real race,” Cornyn continued. “We’re going to see a lot of national money coming from the Democratic Party into Texas because Beto came as close as he did.” He also said he expects President Donald Trump to come to Texas, but that he would spend more time “in battleground states”. Cornyn’s campaign also laid out a case against Castro to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Andrea Drusch, detailing how it would go after him for being liberal and for voting against funding the government, which contained relief money for Texas.

Castro responded to Cornyn’s criticism, tweeting that Cornyn ignored him: “You never called me back. I don’t feel bad though; I hear it happens to lots of Texans.” Cornyn taking on Castro so early is a departure from what Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) did with O’Rourke in 2018, where he largely ignored O’Rourke until the primary was over.

PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD — O’Rourke raised a boatload of cash in his first 24 hours as a candidate. His campaign announced Monday he brought in $6.1 million, slightly more than what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) raised his first day. His campaign did not specify the average donation amount or the number of individuals who donated. The haul quieted some of his critics, POLITICO’s David Siders and Daniel Strauss wrote: “[T]he Texas Democrat signaled that he’s in for a sustained campaign — with the fundraising capacity to last deep into the primary and to compete with anyone in the race.”

— Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) isn’t keeping a typical travel schedule for a presidential candidate. “The schedule has baffled Democratic operatives, and former Gabbard staffers, who declined to go on the record for this story, were equally confused, saying they would not have advised the approach she’s taken,” Daniel reported.

— As former Vice President Joe Biden gets closer to a run, his campaign is looking to line up endorsements. “Democrats familiar with his plans say he intends to unveil a roster of prominent supporters, including black leaders whose endorsements are seen as critical to his candidacy, as the race moves beyond Iowa and New Hampshire,” CNN’s Arlette Saenz and Jeff Zeleny reported.

THE HIGH COURT — The Supreme Court was divided Monday over a case about racial gerrymandering in Virginia’s state House of Delegates map. “Several justices wondered whether the case was properly before the Supreme Court,” The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes reported. “One seemed to want a delay that would effectively leave the current map in place for this fall’s election. Another said any gerrymandering by the state’s then dominant Republicans might have been a reaction to a fear of getting ‘hammered’ by the Democrats for not creating minority districts.”

PAC ATTACK — A man was sentenced to two years in jail for operating a scam PAC. William Tierney will serve time “for conspiring to defraud tens of thousands of victims of more than $1 million in connection with political action committees falsely purporting to support causes including autism awareness, law enforcement support, and the pro-life movement,” per a release from the Southern District of New York.

THE SENATE MAP — John Walsh, a former U.S. attorney in Colorado, left his job at WilmerHale to explore a run for the Senate as a Democrat, Campaign Pro’s James Arkin reported.

WEB WARS — O’Rourke backed up his campaign launch with just over $157,000 in ad spending on Facebook last week. Many of the ads were fundraising requests, telling supporters “what we fundraise in the first 24 hours will signal how powerful our campaign can be”. Pros can read more in our weekly Facebook ad tracker.

NEW MORNING CONSULT DEMOCRATIC NUMBERS — This week’s poll (March 11-17): Biden leads with 35 percent (+4 points from last week), followed by Sanders at 27 percent (unchanged), Harris at 8 percent (-2) and O’Rourke at 8 percent (+1).

TRUMP’S PARTY — Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was disinvited from a local GOP event after voting against Trump’s emergency declaration. Wanda Martens, a member of the Christian County Republican Central Committee, “told the senator in her email, which was obtained by The Kansas City Star, that she did not want to see him when the local party holds its Lincoln/Trump Day Dinner on April 6 in Ozark, Missouri, one of the most conservative areas in the state,” McClatchy’s Bryan Lowry and Lindsay Wise reported.

— The last hope of the Never Trumpers, Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, is still mulling a primary. “He said he remains undecided about a White House run and may hold off on deciding until the fall, waiting to see how investigations of Trump unfold and whether Republican voters eventually clamor for an alternative,” The Washington Post’s Robert Costa and Erin Cox reported. “I appeal to Republicans because my message is: I haven’t abandoned my principles,” Hogan told the duo. “I’ve just said let’s deal in the art of the possible.”

PACK ’EM? — Is court-packing the next big idea coming to the Democratic presidential primary? “Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand told POLITICO they would not rule out expanding the Supreme Court if elected president, showcasing a new level of interest in the Democratic field on an issue that has until recently remained on the fringes of debate,” POLITICO’s Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine reported. Pete Buttigieg and O’Rourke have also publicly suggested they’d be open to the idea. But not every Democrat is on board. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who is still mulling a run, “slammed” his head into a table when asked about it by The Washington Post’s James Hohmann and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) cautioned against it when asked by Burgess and Marianne.

FIRST IN SCORE — OPENING UP SHOP — Dallas Thompson is launching Bright Compass, a human resources consulting firm for Democrats. The firm will work to “ensure that Democrats take every step possible to eradicate discrimination and harassment in all forms ahead of the 2020 election cycle,” a news release read.

ON THE AIRWAVES — America First Policies, the pro-Trump nonprofit, is going up with an ad campaign in Ohio and North Carolina markets starting Wednesday, according to media tracking firm Advertising Analytics.

TEAM TRUMP — Vice President Mike Pence will headline Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) kickoff for his 2020 reelection effort on March 30, his campaign announced.

— And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo didn’t rule out a future run in his home state of Kansas (he is not running for Senate in 2020) in an interview with McClatchy’s Lowry and Wise. At an event in Overland Park, Kan., on Monday, Pompeo said he’s happy at the State Department. “I’m going to be there till he tweets me out of office,” he said, per CNN’s Jennifer Hansler.

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I thought he was tall. Maybe it’s because he’s always standing on the table.” — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo discussing O’Rourke’s height with WAMC’s Alan Chartock.