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First Read's Morning Clips: Making sense of the midterm environment

A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day
Image: People vote in the general election in Miami Shores
People vote in the general election in Miami Shores, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2016.Lynne Sladky / AP file

MIDTERM MADNESS: Making sense of the midterm environment

Stu Rothenberg writes in Roll Call that the narrowing Democratic advantage in the generic ballot is getting a little overblown.

And Nate Cohn writes in the New York Times that the GOP's structural advantages for midterms are eroding.

The Wall Street Journal looks at the trend of former prosecutors running for office.

AZ-SEN: Kelli Ward is still saying that John McCain should step down.

CA-49: POLITICO reports on a messy situation in Congress: Rep Mike Turner wants to depose Darrell Issa in his divorce case.

FL: Here's a preview of that big Sarasota-area special election today.

FL-7: John Boehner will raise money for Republican Scott Sturgill, who’s running in the GOP primary to take on Rep. Stephanie Murphy.

IL-4: Illinois House candidate Sol Flores will run an ad before the Oscars about being abused as a young girl.

MN: No flips last night in those closely-watched Minnesota legislative special elections.

MN-GOV: Former St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman is suspending his campaign for governor.

NJ-SEN: Former pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin is officially in the race against Bob Menendez.

TN-SEN: What's going on with Bob Corker? He wouldn't comment yesterday on reports that he's reconsidering his retirement. POLITICO looks at the big picture in Tennessee.

WI-SEN: Kevin Nicholson's parents maxed out to... Tammy Baldwin.

TRUMP AGENDA: White House can’t get its story straight on Rob Porter

The White House can't get its story straight on Rob Porter. Here's why that matters.

Colbie Holderness writes about her marriage Rob Porter in the Washington Post.

POLITICO writes that John Kelly is now the key figure in a "crisis of confidence" in the White House.

And the White House has a 34 percent turnover rate, according to the New York Times.

NBC's Jonathan Allen calls the Trump budget "a frozen image of the moment when the federal government abandoned all pretense of balancing its books."

The Washington Post, on what's in the budget: "The budget that President Trump proposed Monday takes a hard whack at the poorest Americans, slashing billions of dollars from food stamps, public health insurance and federal housing vouchers, while trying to tilt the programs in more conservative directions."

NBC News' Leigh Ann Caldwell and Garrett Haake preview the coming chaotic immigration debate here.

What did Jeff Sessions mean when he talked about the "Anglo-American heritage of law enforcement"?