The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, and Carolyn Fiddler, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
●PA-Sen: Army veteran Sean Parnell has continued his run for the Republican Senate nomination in the weeks since his estranged wife testified under oath that he'd choked her and hit their children, but an unnamed source close to the campaign tells Politico that an adverse court ruling could end his bid. "His entire campaign comes down to whether he keeps custody of his kids or not," says this source, who added that the Trump-backed candidate would stay in if he prevailed in the custody battle.
Plenty of Republicans, though, want alternatives regardless of whether Parnell, who has denied the allegations, remains in the race, but there isn't an obvious savior candidate in sight at the moment. Several others are currently competing in the May primary in this closely-watched Senate race, but Politico says that each of them has drawbacks. Jeff Bartos, the 2018 nominee for lieutenant governor, has argued that the allegations against Parnell make him "unelectable," a line that could turn off both Donald Trump and Parnell's backers.