Good Tuesday morning, I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your political playbook audio briefing, sponsored by Business Roundtable.

Vice President Mike Pence and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raised an eye-popping $6 million in New York Monday for House Republicans.

They had donor meetings in the city in addition to a dinner at the Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle.

That is a lot of money for one day. The money

will go to benefit vulnerable House Republicans. Pence has been a major political force for Senate

and House Republicans this cycle, holding nearly two dozen events for lawmakers in 2018 alone.

And let's remember, Speaker Paul Ryan's not going to be around forever. Whoever replaces him

will have to raise loads of cash.

McCarthy is showing he could be that guy. It's Election Day in Pennsylvania's 18th district,

a district Donald Trump won by 20 points where Republican Rick Saconne is having a very difficult

time against Democrat Connor Lamb. As a publication time, outside groups have spent nearly

$12.5 million for this Pittsburgh area seat. That's a big

chunk of change. The bulk of the spending came from Republican groups. They combined for $9.3 million

in spending. The D-Triple C spent just $312,000. If Republicans win, it will be a very expensive

victory. If Democrats win, they'll be able to say they picked off a seat at

little cost. Not to mention, the narrative of a Democrat beating a Republican in a seat Donald Trump

won by 20 points will be a massive help going into the election season. Kevin Robillard points out

a very important point here. Republicans have abandoned their tax cut message in the Pennsylvania

special election.

Instead, they're airing ads on sanctuary cities and attacking Connor Lamb's record as a prosecutor.

Buzz at South by Southwest, there's been a lot of chatter about Wendy Davis taking the helm of Planned Parenthood.

Cecile Richards, the longtime head of the organization, is leaving.

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