Georgia's on the political world's mind ... Ernst hits Trump's Mar-a-Lago trips ... FBI used dossier allegations to bolster Trump-Russia investigation

View this email in your browser April 18, 2017   |   by Eric Bradner and Daniella Diaz Trump -- and the political world -- awaits Georgia results The eyes of the political world are on Atlanta's northern suburbs, where polls have closed in a special election to see who will replace new Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in Georgia's 6th District House seat. Really, though, this is about much more than that. It's a test for President Donald Trump's Republican Party and for Democrats' anti-Trump resistance -- with potentially major implications for the 2018 midterms. Here's the lay of the land: This is a "jungle primary" with 18 candidates -- most prominently Democrat Jon Ossoff and four Republicans, including former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel. If any of them (and Ossoff is the only one who will be even close) top 50%, that person wins outright. If not, the top two finishers advance to a June 20 runoff. This is a very Republican district -- Mitt Romney won it by 23 points in 2012 and Price never dipped below 62%. Heck, Newt Gingrich represented this district during his rise to power. But -- and this is important: Trump won it by less than 2 points last year. That's in large part because it's a young, diverse region with higher-than-average education levels. These are white-collar voters, many of whom held their nose when supporting Trump last fall.  Only two things matter tonight:  -- Does Ossoff top 50%? The 30-year-old progressive hero -- he raised an eye-popping $8.3 million in the first quarter of 2017 -- has enormous grass-roots support. It'd be a surprise, but not a shock, if he won this outright.  -- Who's the top Republican? That's the person Ossoff would face in a runoff. This is a divided GOP primary field, but it would quickly rally around a single Republican candidate. Here's one historical analogy: In California in 2006, Democrat Francine Busby got 44% against Republican Brian Bilbray's 15% when the two advanced through a jungle primary. Then, in the runoff, Bilbray jumped to 49% -- while Busby basically stayed flat at 45%. It's not clear whether Ossoff can somehow convert anyone by June 20 who he doesn't already have in his camp today. Oh, and Trump -- who needs a win to keep Republican lawmakers from seeing him as toxic -- is watching closely: STRAIGHT UP "I do wish he would spend more time in Washington."   -- Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, complaining to town hall attendees today about President Donald Trump's frequent Mar-a-Lago trips. BAR TALK FBI used dossier allegations to bolster Trump-Russia investigation From CNN's Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz and Manu Raju: The FBI last year used a dossier of allegations of Russian ties to Donald Trump's campaign as part of the justification to win approval to secretly monitor a Trump associate, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The dossier has also been cited by FBI Director James Comey, in some of his briefings to members of Congress in recent weeks, as one of the sources of information the bureau has used to bolster its investigation, according to US officials briefed on the probe. This includes approval from the secret court that oversees the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to monitor the communications of Carter Page, two of the officials said. Last year, Page was identified by the Trump campaign as an adviser on national security. Officials familiar with the process say even if the application to monitor Page included information from the dossier, it would only be after the FBI had corroborated the information through its own investigation. The officials would not say what or how much was corroborated. BUZZING "America first" update: President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to implement the "Buy American, Hire American" rhetoric of his campaign. The order, which Trump signed after delivering a speech at the headquarters of Snap-On Tools in Wisconsin, looks to bolster protections for certain American-made goods and calls for a review of the H-1B visa program for skilled workers, with the goal of reforming the program, senior administration officials said. More from CNN's Jeremy Diamond. On the topic ... The Trump family's business ventures have made use of virtually every part of the US immigration system over time -- including reported instances of illegal labor on two Trump-branded building projects. More from CNN's Tal Kopan and Curt Devine.  LAST CALL 3 things you may have missed today Bush donates $25K to Ed Gillespie's campaign for Virginia governor: Former President George W. Bush donated $25,000 to his former staffer Ed Gillespie, who is campaigning for the Republican nomination in Virginia's gubernatorial race. More from CNN's Nathan McDermott. China OKs trademarks for Ivanka Trump's company on day she met with Xi: The Chinese government gave provisional approval to Ivanka Trump's company for at least two trademarks April 6, according to Chinese trademark documents reviewed by CNN. That day, Trump dined with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago. More from CNNMoney's Jill Disis. Pentagon to test ability to shoot down North Korean missiles: The long-scheduled tests in the Pacific are part of the US military's overall ballistic missile defense program -- but are, for now at least, aimed at ensuring the United States can defend against a threat from North Korea, US defense officials said. More from CNN's Barbara Starr. CLOSING TIME Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says tax reform is unlikely to happen by August. ... Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is having a moment. ... Democrats in the Senate are raising concerns about the potential cost of President Donald Trump's border wall -- releasing documents from the Department of Homeland Security that explain what the administration is planning. Thanks for reading the CNN Politics Nightcap. Your bartenders are Eric Bradner and Daniella Diaz. The tip jar: nightcap@cnn.com. We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Check out Five Things for Your New Day, CNN's morning newsletter. Give us five minutes, and we'll brief you on all the news and buzz people will be talking about. Share Tweet Forward Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. Your bartenders for CNN Politics' Nightcap are Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) and Daniella Diaz (@DaniellaMicaela)— Tips, thoughts and beer recommendations are always welcome at nightcap@cnn.com. Copyright © 2017 Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved., All rights reserved. You are receiving this message because you subscribed to the CNN Politics Nightcap newsletter. Our mailing address is: Cable News Network, LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. One CNN Center Atlanta, GA 30303 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences