Daily Rundown: 8/3/10

AZ-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds Sen. John McCain (R)--who's looking more and more likely to crush former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) in the GOP primary--leading likely Democratic nominee Rodney Glassman (D) by 19 points, 53% to 34%. If Hayworth is the GOP nominee, he trails Glassman by five points, 43% to 38%. Current rating: Safe Republican.

CO-Sen: It's no secret that Andrew Romanoff's (D) campaign has been having some money issues. Romanoff has long trailed Sen. Michael Bennet (D) in fundraising and recently sold his house to get some extra money for the homestretch to the Democratic primary. Now that it seems more plausible that he could win the nomination, many Colorado Democrats were concerned about his less-than-formidable fundraising prowess, especially since he took a pledge that he wouldn't take any money from PACs. But luckily for them, Romanoff has agreed to take money from the DSCC, which takes money from PACs--which he also said he wouldn't do back in January. Win some lose some, Romanoff. Current rating: Toss-Up.

KS-Sen: Survey USA is out with a late-breaking poll showing Rep. Jerry Moran (R) leading Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) by 10 points, 49% to 39%. But Tiahrt has slowly but surely gained ground on Moran since May, although Survey USA is the only pollster to test the race. The primary is today.

NC-Sen: A new PPP poll finds Sen. Richard Burr (R) edging Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D) by just two points, 39% to 37%, with 7% for Libertarian Michael Beitler. Their last poll of the race, from June, found Burr up by five points. The only thing that's changed since then is that Marshall has begun to consolidate support among Democrats. Still, there are a huge number of undecided voters because many North Carolinians just haven't paid any attention to the race yet. Current rating: Lean Republican.

WA-Sen: A new PPP poll finds Sen. Patty Murray (D) leading Dino Rossi (R) by three points, 49% to 46%. Current rating: Lean Democrat.

CO-Gov: Rasmussen basically confirmed what Survey USA found yesterday: John Hickenlooper is the luckiest candidate this cycle. Their new poll also finds that Tom Tancredo's third-party candidacy is hurting both potential GOP nominees. Hickenlooper leads former Rep. Scott McInnis (R) and Tancredo by 19 points, 43-25-24. And he leads Dan Maes (R) by 15 points, 42-27-24.

Daily Rundown: 7/26/10

AZ-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds Sen. John McCain (R) comfortably ahead of former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) in the GOP Senate primary, 54% to 34%. Their poll from June only gave McCain an 11-point lead, showing McCain's negative ad blitz (and $16 million total expenditure) has seemed to work.

CO-Sen: Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck (R), long considered to be the Tea Party favorite in the race, is apologizing for some disparaging marks he made about the Tea Party movement. Here's the original quote from Buck: "Will you tell those dumbasses at the Tea Party to stop asking questions about birth certificates while I'm on the camera? God, what am I supposed to do?" It probably won't be anything big, just an unforced error for the new GOP frontrunner. In other news, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) endorsed Jane Norton (R) over Buck in the GOP primary, giving her some anti-illegal immigration bona fides going forward. Current rating: Toss-Up.

MO-Sen: A Mason-Dixon poll from this weekend finds Rep. Roy Blunt (R) leading Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) by six points, 48% to 42%. Rasmussen has been the only other pollster to test this race, and they have consistently found small leads for Blunt (usually within the margin of error). While Blunt appears to have the slight edge right now, we still rate this as a Toss-Up.

CO-Gov: The Denver Post is reporting that former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) is following through on last week's threat to launch a third party bid after neither flawed GOP candidate got out of the race. Conventional wisdom is that the fiercely conservative and anti-illegal immigration Tancredo will split votes with the eventual Republican nominee in the general election and give Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) a clear path to victory. Current rating: Lean Democrat.

GA-Gov: The National Rifle Association is backing former Rep. Nathan Deal (R) in the GOP gubernatorial runoff. That might help him to slowly close Karen Handel's (R) 11-point lead from the primary.

OK-Gov: A new Sooner poll finds Attorney General Drew Edmondson (D) leading Lt. Gov. Jari Askins (D) by 16 points in the Democratic primary, 49% to 33%. In June, they found a tied race. The primary is on Tuesday. In general election match-ups, Rep. Mary Fallin (R) leads Edmondson by 8 points and Askins by 6 points--but is still under the 50% mark, meaning she is still very beatable.

TN-Gov: A Mason-Dixon poll from this weekend finds that Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) is still the frontrunner for the GOP nomination. He leads Rep. Zach Wamp (R) 36% to 25%, with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R) in third at 20%. In an attempt to shake up the race, Wamp has brought up the idea that Tennessee "may have to consider seceding from the union if the federal government does not change its ways regarding mandates." The secession talk, of course, was initiated by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) last year--and that strategy worked for him in the GOP primary. In general election match-ups, Haslam leads businessman Mike McWherter (D) by 18 points, Wamp bests him by 7 points, and Ramsey edges him by 5.

NY-13: Sen. John McCain (R) is endorsing former FBI agent Michael Grimm (R) in the GOP primary to take on Rep. Mike McMahon (D). Grimm is considered to be the stronger general election candidate and has the backing of the Conservative Party, but attorney Michael Allegretti (R) has the support of the Staten Island GOP. Current rating: Likely Democrat.

ND-AL: A new Rasmussen poll finds Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D) trailing state Rep. Rick Berg (R) by only three points, 46% to 49%. Their poll from last month found Berg up by 7 points, and even more before that. Current rating: Toss-Up.

Daily Rundown: 7/15/10

AZ-Sen: A new poll from Behavior Research Center finds Sen. John McCain (R) widening his lead over former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R). McCain leads Hayworth by a 45-point spread, 64% to 19%, according to the poll. While other public polling shows McCain making gains, this one seems to be a little stronger than the others. Our polling average has McCain up by 26.3 points.

CT-Sen: When Linda McMahon (R) accused former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) of running a sleeper campaign after he suspended his campaign earlier this year, I pretty much laughed it off. But it appears she may have been on to something, as Simmons told the Hartford Courant that he's "thinking about" getting back in the race. "I haven't made any final decisions," said Simmons. "I'm on the ballot. I've never said I'd get off the ballot." Simmons would have a tough fight against self-funding McMahon in the GOP primary, but if he won the primary, he would give the GOP an honest shot at the seat--while still being the underdog against Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D). Current rating: Likely Democrat.

NV-Sen: According to Las Vegas-Sun journalist Jon Ralston, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) raised $2.4 million in the second quarter, and still has a whopping $8.9 million in the bank. Current rating: Toss-Up.

WI-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds businessman Ron Johnson (R) leading Sen. Russ Feingold (D) by one point, 47% to 46%. A PPP poll from 2 weeks ago found Feingold up by 2. Current rating: Lean Democrat.

CA-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll finds Meg Whitman (R) leading Jerry Brown (D) by one point, 47% to 46%. Their poll from last month had Brown up by 1, and our average has Whitman up by 0.3 points. Current rating: Toss-Up.

CT-Gov: A new Quinnipiac poll finds Ned Lamont (D) and former ambassador Tom Foley (R) leading their respective primary contests. Lamont leads Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy (D) by 9 points, and Foley leads Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele (R) by 35 points. In general election match-ups, Lamont and Malloy both lead Foley by double-digits.

GA-Gov: With the Georgia primary quickly approaching, we're getting more and more polling on both parties' races. In the Democratic primary, Mason-Dixon finds former Gov. Roy Barnes (D) leading Attorney General Thurbert Baker (D) by 34 points, 54% to 20% (Barnes needs to clear 50% in order to avoid a runoff). In the GOP primary, it's not a question of if there will be a primary, but rather who will be in it--and pollsters seem to be in disagreement. Mason-Dixon gives state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (R) an 8-point lead over former Secretary of State Karen Handel (R), while Rasmussen finds Handel and former Rep. Nathan Deal (R) tied at 25%, with Oxendine 5 points behind.

NV-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll finds former federal judge Brian Sandoval (R) leading Rory Reid (D) by 21 points, 57% to 36%. These results are virtually unchanged from their poll from last month. Current rating: Likely Republican.

RI-Gov: Attorney General Patrick Lynch (D) will reportedly drop his gubernatorial bid today, allowing state Treasurer Frank Caprio (D) to take the Democratic nomination without a fight and move right to the general election. Lynch trailed Caprio is polls and in fundraising, and his candidacy just never seemed to fully catch on. What is interesting that Caprio, who is much more moderate than Lynch, is very similar ideologically to former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who is running as an independent.

TX-Gov: Rasmussen also has a poll out in Texas, where they find incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R) leading former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) by 9 points, 50% to 41%. This is only a one-point up-tick for Perry since Rasmussen's last poll here last month, but in late June PPP found the race to be tied at 43%. Current rating: Lean Republican.

FL-08: Liberal firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson (D) raised an impressive $325,000 last quarter, but it doesn't come close to matching the massive $803,000 haul he raised last quarter. Current rating: Toss-Up.

MS-01: State Sen. Alan Nunnelee (R) outraised Rep. Travis Childers (D) in the second quarter, $312,000 to $277,000. But Nunnelee still has a long way to go before he can catch up to Childers' cash-on-hand. Childers has $903,000 in the bank, while Nunnelee has just $230,000. Current rating: Toss-Up.

Daily Rundown: 7/1/10

AZ-Sen: Former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) is trying to get back on the offensive against Sen. John McCain (R) by releasing a four-minute video pointing out his ties to convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. Rothstein used to be a fundraiser for the senator, but the McCain campaign responded by saying: "John McCain couldn't pick him out of a lineup." The Election Frontier currently rates this race as: Safe Republican.

FL-Sen: The St. Petersburg Times reports that a judge has scheduled an October trial for Jim Greer, the former state GOP chairman accused of corruption who was hand-picked by Gov. Charlie Crist (I). The trial starts two weeks before election day and could slow any momentum Crist has down the home stretch. The Election Frontier currently rates this race as a Toss-Up.

KY-Sen: A month after losing a close primary to Attorney General Jack Conway (D), Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (D) is saying he won't endorse either candidate in the general election. The Election Frontier currently rates this race as: Lean Republican.

PA-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) leading Rep. Joe Sestak (D) by six points, 45% to 39%, virtually unchanged from their poll from last month. The Election Frontier's polling average finds Toomey leading Sestak by one point, and we currently rate this race a Toss-Up.

WA-Sen: A new Survey USA poll confirms that it's going to be Sen. Patty Murray (D) vs. Dino Rossi (R) in November. Instead of party primaries, Washington state has an open "jungle" primary in which all candidates of all parties compete in the same primary and the top two finishers advance. In the survey, Murray gets 37% and Rossi gets 33%--way ahead of all the other candidates. The Election Frontier currently rates this race as: Lean Democrat.

AZ-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll finds Gov. Jan Brewer (R) extending her lead over Attorney General Terry Goddard (D) in the general election. According the poll, Brewer leads Goddard by 18 points, 53% to 35%, a five-point improvement from their poll from last month. If this election continues to be a referendum on the Arizona immigration law, then Brewer should win pretty easily.

MD-Gov: Former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) has picked a running mate in his comeback bid: former Secretary of State Mary Kane (R). The motive behind the pick seems to be that Ehrlich is looking to shore up his support in Montgomery County, where Kane lives. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is running with his lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown (D).

OH-Gov: It looks like former Rep. John Kasich (R) is making his first move to the center in the general election campaign. He now says he supports "a federal extension of unemployment benefits."

OR-Gov: A new Magellan Strategies poll finds former NBA player Chris Dudley (R) leading former Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) by one point, 41% to 40%. Even though Magellan is GOP pollster, these results seem pretty much in line with what other recent public polls have found.

WY-Gov: Not that this is actually important, but actor Wilford Brimley has decided to support state Auditor Rita Meyer (R) in the crowded GOP primary. But hey, what other news is coming out of Wyoming anyway, right?

RGA: The Republican Governor's Association hauled in just under $19 million in contributions in the second quarter and has $40 million in the bank. Under the leadership of Mississippi Gov. (and 2012 hopeful?) Haley Barbour, the RGA seems to be doing a lot better financially than their committee counterparts--the RNC, NRSC, and NRCC.

MA-10: State Rep. Jeff Perry (R) is facing allegations that "as a police sergeant nearly 20 years ago, he mishandled the investigation of a subordinate officer who had been accused of strip-searching two teenage girls." Perry, who has been endorsed by Sen. Scott Brown (R) and Mitt Romney, faces a tough primary challenge from former state Treasurer Joe Malone (R), who is making hay of the issue.

Daily Rundown: 6/24/10

AZ-Sen: A new Magellan Strategies poll finds Sen. John McCain (R) with a much bigger lead over former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) in the GOP primary than previous polls have found. According to the survey, McCain leads Hayworth by 23 points, 52% to 29%. The last two polls of the race found McCain up by 11 and 12 points, respectively, and McCain was under the 50% watermark in both.

NV-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) leading Sen. Harry Reid (D) 48% to 41%. Their poll from right after her primary victory found her up by 11 points, and there has been no other public polling of the race since then. Meanwhile, Reid is up with a new ad calling Angle "just too extreme" for Nevada. The ad slams Angle for wanting to wipe out social security (and calling it a form of welfare) and medicare.

NC-Sen: Rasmussen finds a very close race between Secretary of State Elaine Marshall (D) and Sen. Richard Burr (R) in the first public poll after Marshall won the Democratic primary. The poll finds Burr leading Marshall by only one point, 44% to 43%. Their last poll had Burr up by 14 (!) points. Before the Marshall camp gets too excited over this, Rasmussen has a reputation for finding big bumps for candidates after they win a primary (see: Rand Paul and Sharron Angle). PPP, meanwhile, found Burr with a 7-point lead earlier this month.

IA-Gov: Former Gov. Terry Branstad (R), the GOP nominee for governor, picked state Sen. Kim Reynolds (R) as his running mate earlier today. Reynolds is well-liked by state conservatives, which is important because Branstad doesn't have the best relationship with the conservative base of his party. Branstad was under considerable pressure to pick conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats (R), his defeated primary rival, as his running mate. Vander Plaats still hasn't endorsed Branstad, and has floated the idea of running as an independent, which would siphon off a good deal of votes on Branstad's right. There's also word that he might try to challenge Branstad's pick at the GOP nominating convention this weekend.

TX-Gov: Bill Clinton, who seems to be a much bigger campaign booster than Barack Obama these days, endorsed former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) today. He framed the election as a choice between "between a proven, mainstream public servant, Bill White, and one of the most strident, divisive political figures in the nation," referring to White's opponent, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R). Recent polling confirms that White is one of the few Democrats that has a real shot at knocking off a Republican incumbent this cycle.

VT-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll of Vermont's open gubernatorial contest finds Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie (R) leading all five Democratic candidates in a general election match-up. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz (D) appears to be the strongest general election candidate in the Democratic field, only trailing Dubie 47% to 40%, while her no other Democrat comes within 16 points of the Republican.

MA-10: Former Quincy Mayor James Sheets says he's going to run as independent for the seat left open by retiring Rep. Bill Delahunt (D). This move hurts the eventual Democratic nominee (either state Sen. Robert O'Leary or Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating), as Sheets used to be a Democrat.

PA-11: Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) appeared to make a racist comment Wednesday at the financial reform conference committee. Said Kanjorski: “We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately. But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people — and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about — these are average, good American people." Kanjorski's opponent, Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta (R), and the NRCC pounced on these comments immediately, saying “Kanjorski’s candid moment reveals a mentality that goes against American values and traditions. The fact that he does not believe minorities are ‘average, good American people’ uncovers a harsh inequity that has no place today, never mind at the seat of government."

Daily Rundown: 6/23/10

AZ-Sen: Sen. John McCain's (R) campaign is up with a new ad attacking former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) for promising people free government grants in an infomercial for National Grants Conferences. Here's an excerpt: "Twenty-four attorneys general condemned this company for promising people free government money, then ripping them off. ... J.D. Hayworth: pork-barrel spender, lobbyist, huckster."

CT-Sen: Martha Hart, the widow of the late wrestler Owen Hart, is suing the WWE and Linda McMahon (R), its former CEO and likely Senate GOP nominee. Hart "alleges that the WWE has used her late husband's name, image and celebrity profile without her consent and in violation of his contract with the company." This is yet another example of McMahon's baggage that could, at the very least, be an embarrassing distraction from her uphill battle against Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D).

FL-Sen: Democratic primary rivals Rep. Kendrick Meek (D) and billionaire businessman Jeff Greene (D) squared off in a debate for the first time, and it wasn't pretty. Both candidates lobbed harsh, personal attacks at each other rather than talking about the issues. Meek attacked Greene for getting rich off of betting on the collapse of the housing market using credit default swaps, to which Greene responded that Meek probably didn't even know what those were. And Greene accused Meek of securing a consulting job for his mother--former Rep. Carrie Meek (D)--through a developer that now faces criminal charges. The winner in all of this is Gov. Charlie Crist (I), who looks like the only grown-up in this race and continues to siphon off Democratic votes.

OR-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds Sen. Ron Wyden (D) leading by a smaller-than-expected margin over GOP nominee Jim Huffman (R), 47% to 37%. These results are similar to a Survey USA poll released two weeks ago showing Wyden up by 13 points, 51% to 38%. Election Frontier's rating of this race remains "Safe Democrat", but the race is worth keeping an eye on. Meanwhile, Wyden's camp is out with an internal poll showing him up 53-23 over Huffman.

AL-Gov: Former Rep. Sonny Callahan, the campaign manager for Tim James's unsuccessful gubernatorial primary campaign, will endorse state Rep. Robert Bentley (R) in the GOP runoff. This is the closest thing to an endorsement from James himself, who came just short of qualifying for the runoff. This gives Bentley's campaign a much-needed boost, as he is still the underdog against state college chancellor Bradley Byrne (R), who finished ahead of Bentley in the first round of voting.

MA-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll shows Gov. Deval Patrick (D) leading his two rivals in his reelection bid. Patrick leads with 41%, followed by Charlie Baker (R) with 34%. State Treasurer Tim Cahill (I) trails with 16%. Rasmussen's poll from last month found Patrick up by 14 points.

NM-Gov: A new Magellan Strategies poll finds Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez (R) leading Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D) 44% to 43%. Even though Magellan is a GOP pollster, it finds a slightly closer race than Rasmussen and Survey USA have found.

OH-Gov: An aide to former Rep. John Kasich's (R) gubernatorial campaign is in big trouble for mocking Gov. Ted Strickland's (D) humble upbringing. Said the aide: “Not until Ted Strickland feared needing their votes did he give urban Ohioans a second thought. Having grown up in a chicken shack on Duck Run, he has all but ignored our cities’ economies and their workers.” This was quite the boneheaded move, as it makes Kasich seem shallow and alienates the same rural and Appalachian voters that he needs to win in November. The aide has since apologized, but added that he didn't mean it as an insult. Strickland's campaign responded: "Only the congressman from Wall Street would be so out of touch as to insult Ted's humble upbringing." Reports show that the Strickland campaign intends to keep this story alive.

PA-Gov: A new PPP poll shows Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) leading Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato (D) by 10 points, 45% to 35%. A Rasmussen poll from earlier this month found Corbett up by 16.

Daily Rundown: 6/22/10

AZ-Sen: A new Rasmussen poll finds Sen. John McCain (R) leading former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R)--who was just caught on video telling people about how they could obtain free money from the government in an infomercial--47% to 36% in the GOP Senate primary. But this poll should still be a red flag for the McCain campaign, as he's still under the all-important 50% watermark. Rasmussen's poll from last month had McCain leading by a similar margin.

IL-Sen: Businessman Mike Niecestro, a disgruntled Republican who was going to pour $1 million into an independent Senate campaign, ended his bid before it even started after failing to come up with enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. He's backing Constitution Party candidate Randy Stufflebeam, who will siphon off votes on Rep. Mark Kirk's (R) right flank.

PA-Sen: A new PPP poll shows Rep. Joe Sestak (D) and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) tied at 41% in Pennsylvania's Senate contest. The poll finds Sestak has consolidated the Democratic base after his post-primary bounce has wore off.

GA-Gov: A new Survey USA poll took a look at the GOP and Democratic primaries in Georgia's open gubernatorial contest. In the GOP primary, state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine (R) leads the pack with 34%, followed by former Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) with 18%, while Rep. Nathan Deal (R) trails with 17%. A runoff looks likely between Oxendine and either Handel or Deal. In the Democratic primary, former Gov. Roy Barnes (D) looks poised to clinch the nomination outright. He crushes Attorney General Thurbert Baker (D) 63% to 13%, with no other candidates reaching double-digits.

IL-Gov: Scott Lee Cohen (D), a pawnshop owner who won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor only to withdraw later after getting arrested for pulling a knife on his prostitute girlfriend, will now run for governor as an independent. He'll make no real impact on the race, but he's sure to make a lot of noise and draw a lot of (probably negative) attention down the stretch.

OR-Gov: A new Rasmussen poll finds former NBA player Chris Dudley (R) leading former Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) 47% to 45%. Their poll from last month found Dudley up by one point, and a recent Survey USA poll found him leading by 7.

TX-Gov: PPP's out with a new poll in Texas, where they find incumbent Gov. Rick Perry (R) and former Houston Mayor Bill White (D) tied at 43%. Said pollster Tom Jensen: "Texas would seem an unlikely candidate to provide Democrats their biggest win of the election cycle but the Governor's race there is a reminder that candidates matter. Perry is an unusually weak incumbent, while White is an unusually strong challenger." Key finding: independents now support White by a 42-36 margin.

KS-03: State Rep. Kevin Yoder (R) is out with a new web ad showing him with his wife and a few young children. The only problem? Yoder doesn't have any kids. Whoops.

MS-01: As expected, the National Rifle Association endorsed Rep. Travis Childers (D). Childers's GOP rival, state Sen. Alan Nunnelee (R), tried to preempt the announcement by saying that the NRA had supported him in the past and that they tend to support incumbents that are supportive of their agenda over challengers.

Daily Rundown: 6/15/10

AZ-Sen: Sen. John McCain (R) is out with a new ad attacking primary rival former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) for being a lobbyist and for attacking McCain's record with the Navy without ever having served himself. Notice the hot-button issue of immigration was absent.

LA-Sen: Two new polls out in this race. A new poll from Magellan Strategies, a known GOP pollster, shows Sen. David Vitter (R) leading Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) by 20 points, 51% to 31%. But a new PPP poll shows Melancon down by just 9 points, 46% to 37%. These are the first polls that have been taken of the race since all of the drama with the Gulf Coast oil spill began. That may be a huge issue between the two candidates heading toward the general election.

CA-Gov: Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman (R) just gave another $20 million to her campaign, bringing her self-fund total to a whopping $90 million. She previously pledged to spend up to $150 million out of pocket to win gubernatorial election. In other news, the New York Times reports that during her time as CEO, Whitman paid a $200,000 settlement to an eBay employee for shoving her.

FL-Gov: An internal poll out for Attorney General Bill McCollum (R) shows him tied at 40% with former health care executive Rick Scott (R). The most recent public poll from Quinnipiac showed Scott up by 13.

SC-Gov: Attorney General Henry McMaster (R), who finished third in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary last Tuesday, will endorse state Rep. Nikki Haley (R) for the Republican nomination. Most of the South Carolina GOP has rallied behind Haley now except for Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer (R), who endorsed Haley's runoff rival, Rep. Gresham Barrett (R).

KY-06: Attorney Andy Barr (R) is out with an internal poll showing him within seven points of Rep. Ben Chandler (D). The poll found Chandler leading Barr 45% to 38%, but under the all-important 50% mark.

MS-01: An internal poll for state Sen. Alan Nunnelee (R) shows him leading Rep. Travis Childers (D) 50% to 42%. It shows Nunnelee with a 44/8 favorable rating while Childers sits at 49/30.

NC-08: A new PPP poll shows former sportscaster Harold Johnson (R) outperforming businessman Tim D'Annunzio (R) against Rep. Larry Kissell (D) in the general election. Kissell bests D'Annunzio 48% to 26%, but only leads Johnson by six points, 41% to 35%.

Swing Districts: A new national NPR poll finds generic Republicans leading generic Democrats 49% to 41% in 70 battleground House districts across the country. Sixty of those seats are held by Democrats while only ten are held by Republicans. Before Republicans start to pop champagne and reclaim the House as a result of this poll, they should remember that Democrats have shown in the PA-12 special election that they can win local races with solid candidates focusing on local issues.

NRCC: Rep. Mike J. Rogers (R), who's in charge of the NRCC's incumbent retention program, urged GOP contributors to donate to just nine Republican incumbents who are at risk of losing their reelection bids. They are: Dan Lungren (CA-03), Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), Charles Djou (HI-01), Joseph Cao (LA-02), Lee Terry (NE-02), Pat Tiberi (OH-12), Jim Gerlach (PA-06), Charlie Dent (PA-15), and Dave Reichert (WA-08).

Pretty solid list. The only two I would have added are Ken Calvert (CA-44)--but he looks like he's in pretty good shape--and Michele Bachmann (MN-06), but she is such a prodigious fundraiser that she doesn't need any outside help from NRCC.