The Note: Democrats fighting each other as primaries begin

— -- The TAKE with Rick Klein

Primary season 2018 has Democrats thinking big. So why does it feel so much like 2016?

These should be heady times for the party of the “resistance.” President Donald Trump is overseeing a chaotic White House, with an approval rating mired in the 30s; the president’s policy gyrations are making GOP members of Congress squirm; Robert Mueller’s probe is even forcing new, bizarre plot twists.

Yet the storylines going into the first 2018 primaries, being held today in Texas, are of overstuffed Democratic fields, and of establishment-led efforts to thin them out.

One of today’s marquee races, in the Clinton-carried Houston suburbs of Texas’ 7th Congressional District, features the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee trying to disqualify a progressive favorite. On cue, progressive organizations rallied to her side – with memories still raw from the Hillary-vs.-Bernie feuds of two years ago.

Yes, Democratic enthusiasm is fueling record-setting early voting in Texas. But the challenge for Democrats will be keeping that going for another eight months - with a whole lot of rough-and-tumble politics being played along the way.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

“I like him. I like him not. I like him...”

Every Republican candidate is going to have to land on one of those answers about the president, and with primary season now officially in full swing, the days and options for petal-picking are ticking down.

It’s a tricky question for traditional Republicans, just when every voter is focusing in, and the president is not making it easy for them to stick together.

Hiked tariffs, as the president is pushing, are antithetical to the free-trade pillars of the ‘old’ Grand Old Party. House Speaker Paul Ryan said as much yesterday.

Now with another senior Republican lawmaker, Sen. Thad Cochran, announcing his retirement, and putting two U.S. Senate seats in his ruby-red Mississippi on the ballot, Republicans will have yet another outlet for duking out their disagreements.

The TIP with Emily Goodin

Former Rep. Steve Israel, who served as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman during his congressional tenure, talked about the races that would keep him up at night if he were running the campaign committee this cycle.

The first House primaries of the 2018 midterm take place today as Texas voters head to the polls.

First of all, Israel pointed out: “Democrats have to hold 19 seats. People are forgetting that. They are thinking about Republican pickups. Democrats still have to hold 19 of their frontline seats, including six open seats.”

Democrats need to net 24 seats to retake control of the House. But some of their own seats they need to protect include: Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and the seats of retiring Reps. Tim Walz and Rick Nolan in Minnesota, and Carol Shea Porter in New Hampshire.

Then, a few GOP seats opening up are on the must-win list: Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s in Florida, Martha McSally’s in Arizona, Rodney Frelinghuysen’s in New Jersey, and Patrick Meehan’s in Pennsylvania.

Finally, there are some likely GOP seats that, if Democrats win them election night, would indicate that a blue tide is about to sweep the House: Reps. Mike Coffman’s in Colorado, Carlos Curbelo’s in Florida, Don Bacon’s in Nebraska, Barbara Comstock’s in Virginia, Will Hurd’s in Kentucky, and Andy Barr’s in Kentucky.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

• President Trump meets with the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Lofven in the Oval Office at 2:05 p.m. President Trump and Prime Minister Lofven will then participate in an expanded bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at 2:15 p.m.

• President Trump will hold a joint press conference with Prime Minister Lofven at the White House at 3:30 p.m.

• U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks at 10:30 a.m. at George Mason University on the U.S. relationship with Africa and the government’s desire to strengthen ties with African partners through greater security, trade and investment.

• FBI officials will brief members of the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on the Parkland investigation today, according to a committee aide.

• Today is primary election night in Texas and the first primary voting of 2018. The polls open on Tuesday at 7 a.m. CST (8 a.m. EST) and close at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST).

• Former Vice President Joe Biden heads to Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District to campaign for Conor Lamb, a Democrat and former prosecutor.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Let him arrest me.” - Former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg, in a Washington Post interview Monday, after claiming special counsel Robert Mueller subpoenaed him to testify before a grand jury Friday in the ongoing Russia investigation.

NEED TO READ

Former Trump aide says he intends to spurn special counsel’s subpoena. In a dramatic round of interviews former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg appeared on cable television via telephone on Monday to announce his intention to defy a special counsel subpoena to appear before the grand jury this week. (Lucien Bruggeman) http://abcn.ws/2Fr9Ibl

Dreamers protest on Capitol Hill on DACA deadline day. Hundreds of young undocumented immigrants and their allies from Florida to California came to Capitol Hill Monday - the day President Donald Trump set for the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - to protest and lobby members of Congress to pass legislation that would protect them. (Cheyenne Haslett) http://abcn.ws/2H8JiIE

GOP senator Thad Cochran to retire in April, setting up special election in November. Citing lingering health issues, longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran announced Monday that he will retire from Congress on April 1st, a move that will mean both of Mississippi's U.S. Senate seats will be in play this year. (John Verhovek) http://abcn.ws/2Fh5D6k

At least 50 women running for Congress in Texas primaries, a record number. President Donald Trump’s negative comments about Mexican Americans and immigrants — both on the campaign trail and in office — inspired Judy Canales, a Democrat and Latina in Texas, to fulfill a long-held dream to run for Congress. (Allison Pecorin and Rachel Scott) http://abcn.ws/2FotOTW

5 things to watch for in the Texas primary. Texas holds the first primary contests of the 2018 election on Tuesday and both parties are watching for indications of how the battle to control Congress may play out in November. (Emily Goodin, John Verhovek and Rachel Scott) http://abcn.ws/2Fe4PDo

Texas primaries will show 'tremendous' Democratic enthusiasm ahead of midterms: Former San Antonio mayor Castro. “What we’re going to see on Tuesday is a tremendous amount of Democratic enthusiasm,” Castro, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary under President Barack Obama and is considering a run president in 2020, told ABC News’ Rick Klein on the "Powerhouse Politics" podcast. (John Verhovek) http://abcn.ws/2FUZaPC

Trump Organization orders presidential seal replicas for golf courses: Report. The Trump Organization reportedly ordered replicas of the presidential seal to use at its golf courses despite laws against using the seal for financial gain, according to a report from ProPublica. (Stephanie Ebbs) http://abcn.ws/2oVtXE6

Flynn selling house to pay legal bills in Trump probe. Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and ex-Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty last year to lying to FBI agents about his Russian contacts, has put his Virginia home up for sale to pay mounting legal fees, friends and family members told ABC News. http://abcn.ws/2tnAufU (James Gordon Meek)

Trump says tariff exemptions for Canada, Mexico depend on 'new and fair' trade deal. President Donald Trump said Monday "we're not backing down" on steep tariffs he pledged last week to impose on steel and aluminum imports - even for U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico. (Cheyenne Haslett) http://abcn.ws/2I3QNlx

Inside Trump’s $100 million man’s rapid rise to power. Newly minted Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale is already Donald Trump's $100 million man. (Katherine Faulders, Jonathan Karl and Soorin Kim) http://abcn.ws/2oIOcFr

Russia Investigation Romance: Key witness George Papadopoulos marries Italian lawyer. George Papadopoulos, the onetime Trump campaign foreign policy adviser who became the first witness to cut a deal with the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Office, married his Italian fiancé in an intimate ceremony in Chicago over the weekend. (George Stephanopoulos and Matthew Mosk) http://abcn.ws/2I5HCkC

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.