How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Polls

The boys down at SSP Shipping & Receiving are, frankly, completely overwhelmed with the influx of incoming polling to report. That’s why we gotta dish ’em out with no added frills, bulk-style. Our latest dose:

KY-Sen: Braun Research for cn|2 (10/4-6, likely voters, 8/30-9/1 in parens):

Jack Conway (D): 40 (37)

Rand Paul (R): 43 (42)

Undecided: 17 (20)

(MoE: ±3.5%)

NC-Sen: High Point University (9/25-30, adults, no trend lines):

Elaine Marshall (D): 31

Richard Burr (R-inc): 45

Mike Beitler (L): 4

Undecided: 18

(MoE: ±5%)

WI-Sen: Fairbank Maslin for the DSCC (10/4-6, likely voters):

Russ Feingold (D-inc): 48

Ron Johnson (R): 49

(MoE: ±4%)

FL-Gov: Mason-Dixon (10/4-6, likely voters, 9/20-22 in parens):

Alex Sink (D): 44 (47)

Rick Scott (R): 40 (40)

(MoE: ±4%)

OH-Gov, OH-Sen: Suffolk University (10/4-6, likely voters, no trend lines):

Ted Strickland (D-inc): 42

John Kasich (R): 46

Dennis Spisak (G): 4

Ken Matesz (L): 2

Undecided: 5

Lee Fisher (D): 37

Rob Portman (R): 47

Michael Pryce (I): 4

Undecided: 7

(MoE: ±4.4%)

ME-Gov, ME-01: Maine Center for Public Opinion for Pine Tree Politics (Gov | -01) (10/4-7, likely voters, no trend lines):

Libby Mitchell (D): 29

Paul LePage (R): 30

Eliot Cutler (I): 11

Shawn Moody (I): 5

Kevin Scott (I): 2

Undecided: 24

(MoE: ±3.8%)

Chellie Pingree (D-inc): 46

Dean Scontras (R): 38

Undecided: 16

(MoE: ±5.3%)

MI-Gov: EPIC MRA (10/3-7, likely voters, 9/11-12 in parens):

Virg Bernero (D): 29 (29)

Rick Snyder (R): 49 (53)

(MoE: ±4%)

CA-18: SurveyUSA for KFSN-TV (10/5-6, likely voters, no trend lines):

Dennis Cardoza (D-inc): 50

Mike Berryhill (R): 44

Undecided: 6

(MoE: ±4%)

CA-18: J. Moore Methods for Dennis Cardoza (9/27-29, likely voters):

Dennis Cardoza (D-inc): 53

Mike Berryhill (R): 37

(MoE: ±5%)

ID-01: Moore Information for Raul Labrador (10/5-6, voter screen unspecified, 7/12-13 in parens):

Walt Minnick (D-inc): 37 (37)

Raul Labrador (R): 31 (27)

Dave Olson (I): 6 (4)

Mike Washburn (L): 6 (4)

Undecided/None: 21 (28)

(MoE: ±6%)

IN-07: EPIC-MRA (10/1-3, likely voters):

Andre Carson (D-inc): 50

Marvin Scott (R): 33

Dav Wilson (L): 6

(MoE: ±4.9%)

KS-04: SurveyUSA (10/6-7, likely voters, 9/14-15 in parens):

Raj Goyle (D): 40 (40)

Mike Pompeo (R): 53 (50)

Shawn Smith (L): 3

Susan Ducey (RP): 2 (4)

Undecided: 3 (4)

(MoE: ±4.3%)

MI-15: Rossman Group/Team TelCom (10/4, voter screen unspecified):

John Dingell (D-inc): 40

Rob Steele (R): 44

Undecided: 11

(MoE: ±5.6%)

NY-04: McLaughlin & Associates for Fran Becker (10/6, likely voters, 6/10 in parens):

Carolyn McCarthy (D-inc): 46 (45)

Fran Becker (R): 45 (25)

Undecided: 9 (31)

(MoE: ±5.6%)

NY-19: Iona College for RNN-TV/Westchester County Association (10/6, voter screen unspecified):

John Hall (D-inc): 42

Nan Hayworth (R): 42

Undecided: 18

(MoE: ±3.5%)

NY-25: McLaughlin & Associates for Ann Marie Buerkle (10/4-5, likely voters, 7/10 in parens):

Dan Maffei (D-inc): 39 (46)

Ann Marie Buerkle (R): 40 (39)

Undecided: 21 (17)

(MoE: ±4.9%)

Take that last one with a grain of salt, though — note that directly before the head-to-head top line question, McLaughlin asked if voters would like to send an Obama-supporting Democrat to Congress or a Republican who would provide a “check and balance”.

PA-03: Mercyhurst College (9/22-10/5, registered voters):

Kathy Dahlkemper (D-inc): 37

Mike Kelly (R): 44

Undecided: 12

(MoE: ±3.9%)

SSP Daily Digest: 10/7 (Morning Edition)

  • IL-Sen: My god, Mark Kirk is an asshole. The excellent ArchPundit catches Kirk bragging about funding “the largest voter protection” operation in 15 years in “key vulnerable precincts” where “the other side might be tempted to jigger the numbers somewhat.” And pray tell which precincts are those? Says Kirk: “South and West Side of Chicago, Metro East, Rockford.” Those aren’t just Dem strongholds – they happen to be the places where almost all of the African Americans in Illinois live. What a fucker. “Jigger,” huh.
  • KY-Sen: Clinton Alert! The Big Dog is coming to Kentucky to campaign for Jack Conway on Monday.
  • OH-Sen: Quinnipiac (9/29-10/3, likely voters, 9/9-14 in parens):
  • Lee Fisher (D): 36 (35)

    Rob Portman (R): 55 (55)

    Undecided: 8 (9)

    (MoE: ±3.1%)

  • OH-Gov: Quinnipiac (9/29-10/3, likely voters, 9/9-14 in parens):
  • Ted Strickland (D-inc): 41 (37)

    John Kasich (R): 50 (54)

    Undecided: 7 (7)

    (MoE: ±3.1%)

  • IL-Gov: Biden alert! The VPOTUS is joining Gov. Pat Quinn for a rally in Chicago on October 12th at the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Local 130 Hall.
  • NY-Gov: Carl Paladino, international man of mystery? The noted scuzzball is apparently buying time on all the networks for 5 p.m. today to make a “major announcement.” Sounds pretty stunty to me.
  • SC-Gov (PDF): Hamilton Campaigns (D) for Vincent Sheheen (10/1-4, likely voters, 9/24-28 in parens):
  • Vincent Sheheen (D): 44 (41)

    Nikki Haley (R): 49 (51)

    Undecided: 7 (8)

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

  • CO-03: Morans.
  • IL-14: A Randy Hultgren internal from the Tarrance Group shows him leading Dem Rep. Bill Foster 44-38, with 4 points going to Green Party candidate Daniel Kairis.
  • MD-01: Clinton Alert 2.0! The Big Dog is holding a fundraiser in Washington, D.C. this Sunday for Rep. Frank Kratovil. Man, after all the work he’s done this cycle, I hope Clinton has a phat vacation planned for after election day.
  • SC-02: Rob Miller says he won’t vote to retain Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. He also said that he plans to draft Joe DiMaggio in his fantasy baseball league next year and that he’s getting his wife a jetpack for Christmas.
  • Fundraising:

    • FL-Sen: Marco Rubio, $5 million raised (a new record)
    • NRCC: Securing a $6.5 million loan

    SSP TV:

    • MA-Gov: Deval Patrick hits Charlie Baker for raising premiums as a healthcare CEO (while noting that he capped them as governor)
    • FL-Gov: Rick Scott tries to paint Alex Sink as a hypocrite on various financial goings-on during her tenure as state CFO
    • FL-08: A new spot from Alan Grayson hits Webster on women’s issues
    • MA-04: Republican Sean Bielat is out with two ads (apparently cable only): the first attacks Barney Frank on the bailout (and features someone calling Bielat “a reasonable guy” – such praise!); the second is basically the same low production values, faux man-on-the-street shtick, and also has a dude saying, “If you don’t like the new guy, get rid of him in two years!”

    Independent Expenditures:

    Skyrockets in Flight

    Continuing with today’s theme of throwing a random assortment of crap at you with little to no commentary…

    FL-Sen, FL-Gov: Public Opinion Strategies for the Florida Chamber of Commerce (9/27-30, likely voters):

    Alex Sink (D): 42

    Rick Scott (R): 46

    Kendrick Meek (D): 16

    Charlie Crist (I): 33

    Marco Rubio (R): 40

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    Susquehanna (9/28-10/3, likely voters):

    Alex Sink (D): 42

    Rick Scott (R): 44

    (MoE: ±3.1%)

    UFMDC (9/23-30, likely voters):

    Alex Sink (D): 46

    Rick Scott (R): 52

    Kendrick Meek (D): 26

    Charlie Crist (I): 27

    Marco Rubio (R): 46

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    NY-Sen-B, NY-Gov: Public Policy Polling (Sen | Gov) (10/1-3, likely voters):

    Kirsten Gillibrand (D-inc): 50

    Joe DioGuardi (R): 40

    Andrew Cuomo (D): 53

    Carl Paladino (R): 38

    (MoE: ±4%)

    Siena (10/3-4, likely voters):

    Andrew Cuomo (D): 56

    Carl Paladino (R): 32

    (MoE: ±3.9%)

    PA-Sen, PA-Gov: Marist for McClatchy (9/26-28, likely voters):

    Joe Sestak (D): 42

    Pat Toomey (R): 51

    Dan Onorato (D): 41

    Tom Corbett (R): 53

    (MoE: ±4.5%)

    HI-Gov: Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos (10/2-3, likely voters):

    Neil Abercrombie (D): 49

    Duke Aiona (R): 47

    (MoE: ±2.7%)

    TX-Gov: Texas Lyceum (9/22-30, likely voters):

    Bill White (D): 43

    Rick Perry (R-inc): 48

    Kathie Glass (L): 5

    Deb Shafto (G): 1

    (MoE: ±4.8%)

    CT-05: Merriman River Group for the CT Capitol Report (10/3-5, likely voters):

    Chris Murphy (D-inc): 44

    Sam Caligiuri (R): 50

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    Gotham Research Group for Chris Murphy (9/19-21, likely voters):

    Chris Murphy (D-inc): 50

    Sam Caligiuri (R): 37

    (MoE: ±4.1%)

    MI-07: Myers Research for Mark Schauer (10/3-4, likely voters, 9/21-22 in parens):

    Mark Schauer (D-inc): 44 (45)

    Tim Walberg (R): 40 (43)

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    NC-08: SurveyUSA for Civitas (10/1-3, likely voters):

    Larry Kissell (D-inc): 46

    Harold Johnson (R): 45

    (MoE: ±4.7%)

    NJ-06: Monmouth (10/2-5, likely voters):

    Frank Pallone (D-inc): 53

    Anna Little (R): 41

    (MoE: ±3.9%)

    SSP Daily Digest: 10/5 (Afternoon Edition)

    AK-Sen: It’s never a dull moment with Joe Miller in the race. Hot on the heels of the news that he believes that federal unemployment insurance is unconstitutional, today comes the news that his wife went on unemployment after leaving a job in 2004, and that Miller did not disown his wife for betraying the Founding Fathers. But wait, it just gets more interesting: the job Miller’s wife left was working for… Miller himself. He hired his wife as a part-time clerk when he was working for several years as a magistrate judge for the federal district court (y’know, for the federal government he just hates so much). Local gadfly (and Lisa Murkowski ally) Andrew Halcro is, in fact, suggesting that Miller was forced to fire his wife because the blatant nepotism may have been a violation of court policies. (Of course, Miller’s response was that Murkowski’s not one to talk about nepotism.)

    And on top of that, now it’s come out that Miller is a full-on Seventeenther. In other words, part of the new crop of right-wingers who want you to vote for him so he can take away your rights to vote for him in the future.

    HI-Sen: Term-limited GOP Gov. Linda Lingle is saying she’ll “take a look” at a Senate bid in 2012. That seat’s current occupant, Dan Akaka, is 86 years old, so it’s not clear whether he’ll run for another term or not. Lingle is probably the only Republican on the bench in Hawaii with enough juice to make a Senate race, especially an open seat one, competitive.

    IL-Sen, IL-Gov: Mark Kirk is out with an internal poll (from Fulcrum), giving him a much larger lead than, well, anyone else, considering that most pollsters have seen this within a point or two either way. His poll says he leads Alexi Giannoulias 42-33, with 2 for the Green Party’s LeAlan Jones. (The same poll also shows Bill Brady leading Pat Quinn 39-27 in the Governor’s race.) Sitting on a big cash advantage, Kirk has reserved most of his entire kitty ($5.2 million) on ad buys for the remaining month.

    WI-Sen: Russ Feingold seems determined to follow Nancy Boyda down the path of integrity/obscurity. He’s telling the DSCC (who haven’t advertised yet on his behalf) to back off and let him fight the election himself. Says Feingold: “I consider it to be outside help of a kind that is uncontrolled and tends to believe in a philosophy of slash-and-burn politics. That’s frankly not who I am. I don’t want to win that way.”

    NH-Gov: Univ. of New Hampshire (9/23-29, likely voters, July in parentheses):

    John Lynch (D-inc): 51 (54)

    John Stephen (R): 34 (29)

    (MoE: ±4.3%)

    Considering that UNH’s sample had Paul Hodes down by 15 and Carol Shea-Porter losing too, it’s pleasantly surprising to see John Lynch hanging in there with little trouble (in contrast to several other recent polls, such as UNH’s in-state rival for weird results, ARG).

    WV-Gov: I guess the 2010 election is over already? Because the conversation today already seems to be changing to 2012. Republican state Sen. Clark Barnes (whom you might remember for briefly getting in and then getting out of the field in WV-01 last year) says he’ll run for governor two years from now.

    NY-20: Finding himself on the very wrong end of both a Siena poll and a Scott Murphy internal, Chris Gibson offers up a POS internal of his own, taken 9/27-28, showing that he’s still within striking distance. He says he trails Murphy 42-38.

    VA-05: Here’s one more Dem poll from the 5th that shows Tom Perriello is narrowly trailing, but not officially dead yet. Rob Hurt leads Perriello 44-43 in a poll sponsored by the League of Conservation Voters and the SEIU (no word on who the pollster is, though). (UPDATE: The pollster is David Dougherty, and the memo is here. The sample was taken 9/20-23 with a 4.4% MoE.)

    American Crossroads: Remember back when we all laughed at American Crossroads for not raising any money, apparently because they were waiting for the million-dollar checks from their half-a-dozen billionaire donors to clear? Ha ha, boy, those were simpler times. Anyway, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center are going to the IRS to ask for an investigation of Crossroads GPS, one tentacle of the group that’s organized as a non-profit “social welfare organization” or 501(c)(4). The larger Crossroads is a PAC, but GPS itself isn’t supposed to participate in campaigns. Rather than take it up with the FEC, which has fallen into chaotic uselessness because of empty seats on the commission, they’re going straight to the IRS, alleging tax law violations instead.

    Fundraising:

    MO-Sen: Roy Blunt raised $2 million in 3Q, no CoH given

    PA-07: Pat Meehan raised $725K, giving him $1.5 million CoH

    SSP TV:

    AK-Sen: Two different ads, one a coordinated spot between the Joe Miller camp and the NRSC that’s a bio spot for Miller, the other a Tea Party Express one-minute extravaganza that calls Lisa Murkowski a liar, a fraud, and various other things

    IN-Sen: Here’s a link to that Brad Ellsworth ad we mentioned yesterday, where he literally calls Dan Coats a sellout over that all-covers album he released outsourcing

    KY-Sen: The DSCC rolls out an ad hitting Rand Paul on his proposed $2,000 Medicare deductible, while Paul’s newest ad returns to the Jack Conway=Obama theme

    MO-Sen: Robin Carnahan goes back to the theme of Roy Blunt’s cozy DC insider relationships

    NY-Sen-B: Joe DioGuardi’s first ad is an intro spot, as well as bemoaning the dwindling American Dream

    WA-Sen: The DSCC revisits Dino Rossi’s days as a state Senator, including support for cutting unemployment benefits and the minimum wage

    WI-Sen: Russ Feingold takes the GOP to task for prematurely celebrating short of the end zone

    WV-Sen: John Raese follows the NRSC’s lead with his own ad doing the Joe Manchin=Obama thing

    FL-Gov: The DGA’s out with a Florida ad with various law enforcement officials bashing Rick Scott’s Medicare fraud

    NH-Gov: Here’s the ad of the day: John Lynch leaps out of the gate and punches John Stephen in the nose over scandals at New Hampshire’s HHS Dept.

    OH-Gov: Ted Strickland, bedecked in camo, reminds the state’s hunters who got the NRA’s backing

    PA-Gov: Well, at least Tom Corbett isn’t saying Dan Onorato = Obama, but he is saying Onorato = Ed Rendell

    RI-Gov: The DGA hits Lincoln Chafee from the right? Their new ad says that vulnerable Rhode Islanders can’t afford all the new taxes Chafee wants

    FL-24: Suzanne Kosmas hits Sandy Adams over the Paul Ryan roadmap

    PA-04: Oh, good… more kids complaining about how their allowance isn’t big enough to cover all the debt they’re going to have to pay off, courtesy of Keith Rothfus

    Rasmussen:

    AZ-Sen: Rodney Glassman (D) 33%, John McCain (R-inc) 54%

    CA-Sen: Barbara Boxer (D-inc) 49%, Carly Fiorina (R) 45%

    CO-Gov: John Hickenlooper (D) 43%, Dan Maes (R) 16%, Tom Tancredo (C) 35%

    CO-Sen: Michael Bennet (D-inc) 45%, Ken Buck (R) 50%

    Rasmussen (appearing as Fox/Pulse):

    CT-Gov: Dan Malloy (D) 47%, Tom Foley (R) 41%

    CT-Sen: Richard Blumenthal (D) 52%, Linda McMahon (R) 42%

    MO-Sen: Robin Carnahan (D) 42%, Roy Blunt (R) 50%

    NV-Sen: Harry Reid (D-inc) 46%, Sharron Angle (R) 49%

    OH-Gov: Ted Strickland (D-inc) 43%, John Kasich (R) 49%

    OH-Sen: Lee Fisher (D) 37%, Rob Portman (R) 53%

    WV-Sen: Joe Manchin (D) 43%, John Raese (R) 48%

    Senate and Gubernatorial Rankings – October

    Rankings are ‘Tilt’ (less than 5 point race), ‘Lean’ (5-10 point race) and ‘Favored ‘(10-20 point race). Anything beyond that is ‘Solid’ for either party.

    August and September rankings at links.

    http://www.swingstateproject.c…

    http://www.swingstateproject.c…

    SENATE

    Dem Tilt

    WV (Jury is out on wisdom of election this year.)

    CT (People like Blumenthal and aren’t fussed about McMahon but closer than it should be.)

    NV (Reid can’t pull away but surely Nevadans can’t elect that nut. Can they?)

    Rep Tilt

    IL (Hardest call to make. I’m still confident Alexi can get over the hump though.)

    Dem Lean

    NY (Kirsten’s problem was always that people don’t know her. First ads now helping with that.)

    WA (Need to see polls not by Rasmussen to see if Rossi has bounced back.)

    CA (Boxer isn’t out of the woods yet but the GOP have better targets.)

    Rep Lean

    WI (Shocked this has shifted so quickly and so convincingly.)

    CO (Bennet doesn’t seem to be getting any traction.)

    KY (The one remaining shot at a pickup but I suspect it will be another heartbreaker like ’04.)

    PA (Sestak has left it too late this time I fear.)

    MO (This will be close but doesn’t look good.)

    NH (Independents leaning heavily Republican across the country so Hodes has little chance with them dominating the electorate here.)

    Dem Favored

    DE (Thanks Teabaggers!)

    Rep Favored

    OH (No Brunner fans she would not be doing better.)

    FL (Crist is becoming a bit of a joke.)

    NC (Marshall has no money so no contest.)

    IN (In any other year I think Ellsworth wins. Want more polls.)

    AR (Lincoln won’t lose as big as some think.)

    AK (McAdams has great ads but think Dems will be strategic and help Murkowski.)

    LA (Melancon ad hitting Vitter where it hurts in final bid but he was never winning this year if any.)

    ND safely in the GOP column.

    GOVERNORS

    Dem Tilt  

    CA (August as good as it gets for Whitman. As suspected Brown just had to go up on tv to get ahead. No blowout though.)

    Rep Tilt

    OH (Strickland running a great campaign but Kasich a tough opponent.)

    IL (Quinn is clearly closing despite his problems. Not sure if it will be enough though.)

    ME (LePage seems to be sinking but suspect he still leads. Just.)

    VT (Need more polling to see if Shumlin has closed here.)

    FL (Scott floods the airwaves and Floridians don’t seem to care how dodgy he is.)

    OR (Kitzhaber surprisingly weak but still in with a good shout.)

    Dem Lean

    CT (Foley has skeletons and Malloy does not which in a blue state means a Dem gain.)

    MN (Dayton isn’t perfect but split field means a Dem gain.)

    MD (Blue state and decent O’Malley approvals mean no Ehrlich return.)

    NH (Longevity and the cycle hurt Lynch but I think he’ll be fine.)

    MA (Patrick’s job numbers have risen steadily. Suspect he wins even if Cahill drops out late.)

    Rep Lean  

    PA (Onorato seems to be closing a little but too little too late I fancy.)

    TX (Great campaign from Bill White but afraid the state is just too red this year.)

    GA (Cannot quite believe Deal is getting a pass here.)

    NM (Martinez has a perfect resume for this year.)

    WI (Seems to be moving away from Barrett.)

    Dem Favored

    CO (Hickenlooper breaks 50 on election day despite having two opponents.)

    HI (Abercrombie will have to work for it but should be fine.)

    RI (Caprio with the advantage but even if Chafee wins this is basically a Dem gain either way.)

    NY (No longer a rout but I’m not worried.)

    AR (Every incumbent Dem should be on this board!)

    Rep Favored

    SC (Latest poll looks dodgy but still expect this to tighten in the final weeks.)

    NV (Possible Rory could make this close but I can’t see any way he wins.)

    MI (Since a Republican was always likely to win Snyder isn’t half bad.)

    AZ (Brewer’s debate debacle doesn’t seem to have hurt much.)

    OK (I suspect no total blowout but a comfy margin all the same.)

    IA (Culver might be toast even with a weaker Republican.)

    TN (McWherter turns out to be a bit of dud.)

    KS (Nobody seems to have much love for Brownback but even fewer love Dems this year.)

    ID (Closer than expected but Otter will win.)

    AK (Berkowitz is a decent nominee but I bet he wishes he had challenged Murkowski instead.)

    WY safely in the GOP column.

    Projection

    SENATE – GOP +7

    GOVERNORS – GOP +7

    SSP Daily Digest: 10/1 (Afternoon Edition)

    CT-Sen: This might get swallowed up by Linda McMahon’s minimum wage comments, which are still dominating the coverage of this particular race, but here’s a new instance of McMahon getting tripped up by those annoying little facts. At a tea party rally in April, she fended off a question about lobbyists, saying “I have not spent lobbying dollars in Washington.” Disclosures show that WWE, between 2001 and 2008, spent $680K on lobbying expenses, including $340K in 2007-2008 during the period when Congress was investigating use of steroids in sports.

    DE-Sen: When asked about his plans for the Delaware race, John Cornyn (after having gotten goaded into giving Christine O’Donnell $42K post-primary) has returned to sounding disinterested: “We will be supporting Christine O’Donnell as appropriate if that race is competitive. Right now it looks like it is not as competitive as other places around the country.” (Counting down to another blast of anti-NRSC teabagger fury in 3… 2…) Meanwhile, travel back in time (for the future of mankind) to 2002, and check out this great photo of O’Donnell and friends (which ought to further alarm some of her more conservative supporters worried about her witchcraft past… did it involve bat-head biting too?). Is O’Donnell just Paranoid, or is she really riding the Crazy Train?

    AR-Gov: Here’s a poll from the one (count ’em, 1) gubernatorial race in the country where the incumbent Democrat is more or less safe. Hendrix College, on behalf of Talk Business, finds Mike Beebe leading Republican Jim Keet 49-35. That’s a bit of an improvement from their previous poll in July, where Beebe led 50-41.

    CA-Gov: Realizing that she’s on the wrong end of written evidence, Meg Whitman’s trying out a new tactic: blaming her husband (the soap-opera-named Dr. Griff Harsh). Whitman denied knowing about the letter, but now says she “suspects” that the handwriting on the letter regarding her housekeeper’s Social Security number is his. Meanwhile, here’s a link to that Spanish-language TV ad on the housekeeper issue that we mentioned yesterday, as part of the SEIU’s huge cash infusion to this race.

    FL-Gov: With a number of public polls this week showing Rick Scott having moved back into the lead, Alex Sink is leaking an internal poll. She’s leading, although by a much smaller margin than the Mason-Dixon poll from just last week that had her up 7. Instead, she’s up by only 1, 45-44, in the poll taken over Sept. 23-29 (no word on who the pollster is).

    IN-Gov: Retiring Sen. Evan Bayh, of the eight-digit war chest, just gave $500K to the Indiana Democratic Party (after having given $1 million earlier in the year). Presumably that’s to help with the three tight House races there, but many are interpreting it as a sign of goodwill oriented toward bolstering his shot at taking back over as Governor in 2012.

    MA-Gov: I’ll just quote DavidNYC on this: “I hope they sell sacks in XXXL size for Tim Cahill to put his sad into.” How craptacular is your campaign when not just your campaign manager but then your actual running mate bails on you and endorses your opponent? That’s what happened to indie candidate Tim Cahill, whose Lt. Gov. running mate, Republican state Rep. Paul Loscocco, announced that he’s leaving the ticket and backing Charlie Baker instead, perhaps realizing that Cahill’s presence is the main thing keeping Baker from a shot at winning. (Also recall that Loscocco had originally wanted to be Baker’s running mate but got snubbed for that, and accepted Cahill’s offer as something of a fallback.) Cahill, pretty much friendless at this point, just announced in a press conference that he’s staying in the race, though.

    NY-Gov: Andrew Cuomo got an unusual endorsement today, from the always-unpredictable world of Staten Island politics. The Conservative borough president, James Molinaro, threw his backing to Cuomo. (Molinaro is a key ally of Michael Bloomberg. Don’t confuse him with ex-Rep. and county Conservative party chair Guy Molinari, who’s the real power behind the throne on Staten Island.) Also, the war between Carl Paladino (last seen going ballistic on the venerable Fred Dicker) and the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post seems to be intensifying, if the latest opus from editor-in-chief Col Allen is any indication (note the intentional use of plural form!). If you’re a Republican in New York and you’ve lost the Post, well, you’ve lost.

    Mr. Caputo should check his facts before making charges against Post personnel. In addition, Mr. Paladino should not be surprised by the media’s interest in his families…

    OH-13: Now this is seems like it has some game-changing potential here: Tom Ganley, the moneybags car dealer who’s turned the Dem-leaning 13th into a real race, just got sued for sexual assault by a former enthusiastic supporter who says she met him at a Tea Party rally and tried to volunteer for his campaign. Ganley, she says, wanted her to volunteer for some rather different duties:

    While she waited in Ganley’s office, the suit says, he made sexually suggestive comments and invited her to join him and his friends at a condominium he owns in Strongsville. Ganley gave her a $100 bill and told her to buy some lingerie and high-heeled shoes, according to the lawsuit.

    Ganley told her he wanted her to dominate her, parade her on a leash and have sex with her in front of his “play friends,” the suit says. It accuses him of grabbing her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her and, despite her resistance, reaching into her pants.

    Naturally, the Ganley camp is calling the suit “extortion” and politically motivated.

    PA-07: Now that primary season is over, we’ve pretty much stopped reporting on union endorsements, as they shouldn’t come as any surprise at this point… except when they endorse the Republican. That’s what happened in the 7th, though, as the United Aerospace Workers local gave its backing to Pat Meehan. (They’re a major presence in the district, given the large Boeing helicopter plant near the Philly airport.)

    Enthusiasm gap: PPP hasn’t been putting out very encouraging numbers lately, but they do offer some cause for optimism that may or may not pan out: with Republican unity pretty much maxed out, the enthusiasm gap can’t do anything but shrink. They point out that there are many more Democratic undecideds than Republican ones right now. They show that’s especially profound in the Illinois races (and that late coming-home may be what’s propelling Pat Quinn all of a sudden), and, although it’s not on their chart, I’d guess also in Pennsylvania, where the Dem undecideds have always been strangely high and we may be seeing some gap-closing beginning too.

    Money: If you’ve noticed that there’s a crapload of independent expenditures coming from billionaire-funded 527s and 501(c)(3)s in the last month, pretty much wiping out whatever cash advantage the Democratic congressional committees had over the GOP committees, you’re not alone in that realization. Bloomberg calculates that independent organizations have outspent the parties combined in trying to buy shape the election: $33 million from folks like American Crossroads and the Chamber of Commerce, compared with $20 million from all of the party committees.

    SSP TV:

    AK-Sen: Lisa Murkowski works fast to turn Joe Miller’s ill-advised drapes-measuring tweets against him, with a new radio ad

    IL-Sen: Here’s another ad with cute babies, this time from Mark Kirk, but this time not about abortion but how DEBT WILL CRUSH US ALL!!1!

    NH-Gov: Wow, the RGA must suddenly sense they have an opportunity here, and they have an ad up hitting John Lynch on spending

    TX-Gov: Rick Perry can’t coast to re-election this time and he’s up with another ad, this time hitting Bill White on one of his perceived strengths (emergency management during Hurricane Rita)

    FL-08: The NRCC hits back against Alan Grayson for his “Taliban Dan” ad against Dan Webster, calling Grayson “a national embarrassment”

    IL-10: The DCCC does a half-and-half ad, touting Dan Seals’ business background and hitting Bob Dold! on pro-life and tea party connections

    Rasmussen:

    FL-Gov: Alex Sink (D) 41%, Rick Scott (R) 46%

    PA-Sen: Joe Sestak (D) 40%, Pat Toomey (R) 49%

    WI-Gov: Tom Barrett (D) 44%, Scott Walker (R) 50%

    FL-Gov, FL-Sen: Sink Sinks While Scott Gets Off Scot-Free

    Quinnipiac (9/23-28, likely voters, 8/11-16 (using RVs and including Bud Chiles) in parentheses):

    Alex Sink (D): 43 (33)

    Rick Scott (R): 49 (29)

    Undecided: 7 (20)

    (MoE: ±2.9%)

    Quinnipiac (9/23-28, likely voters, 8/11-16 (using RVs) in parentheses):

    Kendrick Meek (D): 18 (16)

    Marco Rubio (R): 46 (32)

    Charlie Crist (I): 33 (39)

    Undecided: 3 (10)

    (MoE: ±2.9%)

    If, even half a week ago, you’d told me that we’d be talking about losing the Florida gubernatorial race and winning the Illinois gubernatorial race… but, well, that’s one more chapter in the very game-of-whack-a-mole nature of this turbulent cycle. But Quinnipiac is the latest pollster to see that Alex Sink’s advantage in the Florida governor’s race has dissipated. My best guess is that Sink gained some traction while Rick Scott was letting his money take a brief respite on the advertising front, and now that he’s back he’s starting to control the tempo again. And it certainly helps him (since his ads are mostly anti-Obama and about nationalizing the race) that in Quinnipiac’s sample, Barack Obama’s approval is a strangely low 40/56. (Bear in mind that this is Quinnipiac’s first LV-based sample of this race, and the effect of their switch to LVs has been particularly dramatic compared with other pollsters, as seen in New York, Connecticut, Ohio… well, most of the state’s where they’re active, really.)

    Oh, by the way, there’s also that Senate race, which for most of the cycle was one of the nation’s most exciting but now, uh, isn’t. Maybe the most interesting number here is that Charlie Crist still has very positive approvals as Governor: 51/43 (and Qpac’s write-up asks if Crist is “kicking himself for giving up his day job”). However, 48% of Qpac’s sample is “angry” at the federal government, and 68% of them are going for Marco Rubio… Crist’s measured finger-in-the-wind stances aren’t the kind of red meat they’re craving.

    SSP Daily Digest: 9/30 (Morning Edition)

  • Fundraising: Today is the last day of the fundraising quarter, so now is a good time to donate to any Dems you like out there. Decisions on whom to help will be made in the final weeks of the election season based in part on who shows fundraising strength in this final quarter.
  • AK-Sen: It’s not small – no no no. Republican Joe Miller has failed to file a personal finance disclosure with the Senate, something any candidate who raises or spends more than $5,000 is required to do within 30 days by law. Miller’s been out of compliance with the law since at least April. The penalty? Up to $50,000. Politico caught up with Miller at a fancy DC fundraiser, but he refused to answer any questions about the issue.
  • Meanwhile, Dem Scott McAdams sends out a fundraising ask via email in response to word that the Tea Party Express will be pouring resources into the state to finish the job they started. McAdams reminds us of something we’ve been saying all along: “In some Alaskan towns it costs only $30 to run a radio ad and $200 for a TV spot.” So if you still have some spare change to give, he still needs your help – and it will indeed make a difference, no matter how much you can afford to give.

  • PA-Sen, PA-07, PA-08: VoteVets is launching a half-million dollar canvassing effort on behalf of Joe Sestak, who of course is one of them. They’ll also be helping out another pair of veterans, Bryan Lentz and Patrick Murphy.
  • FL-Gov: Man, dejected gubernatorial loser Bill McCollum is serving up the cat fud personally, on a fucking silver platter. Rick Scott’s been hitting Alex Sink on the airwaves over her alleged mismanagement of the state’s investments while serving as Chief Financial Officer. But at a recent public meeting of the board of trustees of Florida’s pension funds, McCollum made sure to repeatedly question a top administrator about the soundness of the funds – and was assured they were. It’s like he’s fact-checking and doing p.r. for Sink all at once! Someone hire this guy!
  • NY-Gov: Here’s something that’s no surprise: Carl Paladino was awarded the Conservative Party’s ballot line. Here’s something else that’s no surprise: He’s a motherfucking spazz who can’t control his temper – even around reporters, even on camera. The video is fuzzy and the sound quality poor, but watch Paladino get into it with conservative New York Post political columnist Fred Dicker. The most amusing thing is that Paladino seems to think Dicker, who, uh, as I said, works for the Post, is a Cuomo plant.
  • AL-05: This parsing almost reaches Clintonian levels: Dem Steve Raby has been hammering Mo Brooks for opposing earmarks, thanks to some teabagger pledge that Brooks signed. This is not a popular position in Alabama, and Brooks had his name removed from the group’s website – but claimed he was only opposing pork, not earmarks. Someone buy this poor fucker a thesaurus, stat!
  • AZ-05: Harry Mitchell’s got a poll out from Bennett, Petts & Normington, showing him up 43-40 over David Schweikert.
  • LA-03: In the very last primary of the year, coming up this Saturday, a survey by a robopollster called ElectPoll shows Jeff Landry crushing fellow Republican Hunt Downer, 66-34. Can’t say I’m too surprised, given that Landry missed avoiding a runoff by less than 200 votes. I doubt Downer made the right choice by continuing the fight. Meanwhile, Ravi Sangisetty becomes the latest anti-Pelosi Dem, saying he wouldn’t vote to keep her as Speaker of the House. Somehow I doubt he’ll have the chance to vote on that issue one way or another.
  • NM-01: So classic – another anti-government spending Republican who has embraced government spending for himself. It’s really no different than the teabaggers who declare “Hands off my Medicare!” Anyhow, Jon Barela is the latest offender. His film production company has received cash assistance from taxpayers thanks to a special New Mexico rebate program designed to encourage movie-making in the state.
  • NY-20: Always gotta be careful not to read too much into stories about staff departures, but this is awfully late in the game to be losing your campaign manager – which just happened to Republican Chris Gibson. One red flag: That they didn’t have someone lined up to replace Patrick Ziegler, who was supposedly recruited by the RNC to help with broader election efforts in the Hudson Valley. Another: Ziegler had almost no political experience and apparently was overwhelmed by the job. And finally: Ziegler himself has sought the GOP nomination, but dropped out of the race in March. A week later, he was hired by none other than Gibson. So perhaps this was not quite a match made in heaven in the first place.
  • OH-18: SEIU is sending out a mailer attacking Dem Zack Space, who flip-flopped and voted against healthcare reform in the end. No word on how much they’re spending, though it seems to me that this fight really should have happened during the primaries. I mean, would they really prefer Bob Gibbs?
  • PA-06: A nice get for Manan Trivedi: He secured the endorsement of the Sierra Club, one of those groups which likes to back “moderate” Republicans to bolster their supposed bi-partisan cred. While they haven’t backed Jim Gerlach in recent years, they haven’t supported his opponents, either, so it’s good to see them take the right side this time.
  • VA-02: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, typically friend to Republicans the world over, endorsed Democrat Glenn Nye. Somehow I don’t think it’ll stop the attacks that he’s a libruhl who votes with Nancy Pelosi 743% of the time.
  • NRSC: Aaron Blake says Tom Coburn’s going to give $1 million to the NRSC.
  • NRCC: Meanwhile, John Boehner just gave $1 million more to the NRCC, and supposedly succeeded in getting $4 million more in pledges from his buddies.
  • NRA: We are most definitively done with the NRA whip count, which got boring long ago. If you really want to keep checking up on it, keep this link handy.
  • SSP TV:

    • AR-02: Dem Joyce Elliott touts her non-DC background as a teacher, and links herself to still-popular Gov. Mike Beebe
    • NC-02: Renee Ellmers accuses Bob Etheridge of cutting half a trillion from Medicare to pay for “Obamacare”
    • NM-02: Harry Teague attacks Steve Pearce for being pro-shipping-jobs-to-India
    • SC-02: Rob Miller’s campaign asks people how they know Rep. Joe Wilson has “gone Washington,” but apparently folks need the help of a poster to answer

    California, Florida & Illinois: CNN/Time Roundup

    Opinion Research for CNN/Time (9/24-28, likely voters):

    CA-Sen, CA-Gov (9/2-7 [RVs] in parens):

    Barbara Boxer (D-inc): 52 (48)

    Carly Fiorina (R): 43 (44)

    Jerry Brown (D): 52 (46)

    Meg Whitman (R): 43 (48)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    You can sort of sense that Democrats everywhere are letting out a sigh of relief (not unlike the one made by Admiral Ackbar after his fleet concentrated all their firepower on that super-star destroyer) after a string of polls have shown Babs Boxer and Jerry Brown putting some daylight between themselves and their moneyed GOP opponents. (That was certainly accentuated earlier today by the news that the NRSC canceled their ad buy on Carly Fiorina’s behalf in the final week of the campaign.) Among registered voters only, the gaps are even bigger: Boxer leads Fiorina by 56-37, and Brown’s up by 52-39.

    FL-Sen, FL-Gov (9/2-7 [RVs] in parens):

    Kendrick Meek (D): 23 (24)

    Marco Rubio (R): 42 (36)

    Charlie Crist (I): 31 (34)

    Alex Sink (D): 45 (49)

    Rick Scott (R): 47 (42)

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    Not as good. Among registered voters, Sink has a slim 46-45 lead over chrome-domed scumbucket Rick Scott.

    IL-Sen, IL-Gov (no trend lines):

    Alexi Giannoulias (D): 43

    Mark Kirk (R): 42

    LeAlan Jones (G): 8

    Pat Quinn (D-inc): 38

    Bill Brady (R): 40

    Rich Whitney (G): 4

    Scott Lee Cohen (I): 14

    (MoE: ±3.5%)

    Those are the best numbers we’ve seen for Pat Quinn since… well, a long time. Among RVs, he’s tied at 37-37 with Brady (while Giannoulias gets a 42-38 lead over Kirk). The biggest surprise of the poll is how many votes disgraced ex-Dem Lt. Gov. nominee Scott Lee Cohen is vacuuming up (he runs strongest among Dems, indies, moderates and liberals – go figure). Is he drawing voters that would normally go Democratic, but can’t bring themselves to pull the trigger for Quinn this year?

    SSP Daily Digest: 9/29 (Afternoon Edition)

    AK-Sen: The Tea Party Express is reloading in Alaska, with Lisa Murkowski having popped up again as a target. They’re launching a new ad blitz starting Monday, although no word on how much they plan to spend on this go-round.

    CA-Sen: It seems like the NRSC can read the handwriting on the wall in California: they’ve canceled a $1.9 million ad buy on Carly Fiorina’s behalf for the last week before the election (probably sensing that money’s more valuable in West Virginia). They’re, of course, framing it as “advancing in another direction,” saying they wanted to give her flexibility to spend the money “around the state and not just in one city.”

    CO-Sen: Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for DSCC (9/22-26, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Michael Bennet (D-inc): 48

    Ken Buck (R): 46

    (n=800)

    The DSCC has the first publicly-offered poll in a while giving Michael Bennet a lead, here up 2 on Ken Buck. (The last poll with a Bennet lead seems to be that joint POS/Fairbank Maslin poll from early September, which had him up by 3.)

    DE-Sen: Wow, Christine O’Donnell’s resume (on her LinkedIn profile) is falling apart like it was made out of balsa wood and chewing gum. After getting called on not having actually taken any classes at Oxford yesterday, now it turns out that she never took any classes at Claremont Graduate University. And she’s offering a really strange denial, the kind of thing you might expect from a first-grader rather than a 41-year old: that Linked In profile with her name on it? Yeah, she’s saying she didn’t put it up and doesn’t know who did.

    LA-Sen: I don’t know if anyone has compared this yet to that epic-length R. Kelly video that has him hiding in closet and there’s a dwarf apropos of nothing? At any rate, Charlie Melancon is out with a new ad that’s not the first time he’s broached the issue of David Vitter’s, um, personal failings… but this one goes on for two whole minutes, chronicling the whole thing in great detail. Given its remarkable length, it should be no surprise that it’s only running on cable.

    NC-Sen: Public Policy Polling (pdf) (9/23-26, likely voters, late Aug. in parentheses):

    Elaine Marshall (D): 36 (38)

    Richard Burr (R-inc): 49 (43)

    Michael Beitler (L):  (6)

    Undecided: 11 (13)

    (MoE: ±3.8%)

    The movement toward Richard Burr (thanks to his seemingly-effective advertising, paid for with his huge financial edge) shown by other pollsters is corroborated by PPP, who’ve tended to see a closer race here in their home state than anyone else. He leads by 13, instead of 5 like last time. One galling number, indicating this could be a real race if Elaine Marshall had any money (not forthcoming, since the DSCC is playing so much defense elsewhere), is that Marshall actually leads 47-45 among those who have an opinion of her.

    NV-Sen: Jon Ralston continues to pummel Sharron Angle, this time over her strange attempts to walk back claims that she wants to privatize the VA. “Walk back” may not even be the right word, since her seem to involve the argument that she never actually said the words that she previously said in May. Meanwhile, here’s the level of message discipline they have over at Camp Angle: her own spokesperson is criticizing Angle’s latest ad on immigration as “propaganda,” in her side gig as chair of the Nevada Republican Hispanic Caucus!

    WA-Sen: Who’s the most popular politician in America these days? Bill Clinton, believe it or not. So it’s no surprise he’s in demand as Democratic surrogate, and he’s even coming to Washington on Patty Murray’s behalf, headlining a Boeing-themed event in Everett on Oct. 18.

    CA-Gov: This story seems to be developing as the day goes on: Meg Whitman’s camp has had to cop to the fact that she once employed a housekeeper who was, gasp, an illegal immigrant. The fight… which will probably determine how much of a story this becomes (if any) over the next few days… seems to be over how much Whitman personally knew about her status (although the non-matching social security number seems like it should’ve been a tipoff).

    CO-Gov: Wow, this might actually help Dan Maes climb his way out of polling in the low teens! Today he offers some exculpatory evidence that he did too sorta-kinda work as an undercover officer for a small-town police department in Kansas. (Of course, it also shows that he was in fact fired for leaking information about the probe to the relative of a target.)

    OH-Gov: Benenson for Campaign for the Moderate Majority (9/25-27, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Ted Strickland (D-inc): 41

    John Kasich (R): 40

    Undecided: 13

    (MoE: ±4%)

    You might apply a little salt as this is a poll by a Dem pollster for Dem-sounding group, but this is still the first we’ve seen this in a long, long while… a poll with Ted Strickland in the lead. With a trio of polls in the last few days showing Strickland down by either 1 or 2, there’s some definite late closing in this race. (One strange item, though, is that “other” candidates are eating up 6% of the vote here. I’d be surprised if that continues.)

    CO-02: Magellan (9/29, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Jared Polis (D-inc): 48

    Stephen Bailey (R): 36

    Undecided: 8

    (MoE: ±3.7%)

    I’m not sure why Magellan fired up their crack team of robo-dialers to test this race, not really on anyone’s radar screen — maybe they’re prospecting for unusual targets. As one would expect, Jared Polis isn’t in particular danger in this D+11 district, although thanks to the drag of the national climate his numbers seem softer than the district’s heavy lean.

    NC-07: SurveyUSA for Civitas (pdf) (9/24-26, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Mike McIntyre (D-inc): 45

    Ilario Pantano (R): 46

    (MoE: ±4.4%)

    SurveyUSA takes a look at NC-07, as part of the Civitas Institute’s rotating cast of pollsters. The (not very comforting) good news is that this is SurveyUSA, which has been putting out very GOP-friendly polling in House races, especially in North Carolina. (See their NC-11 polling, compared to other sources.) The bad news is that this race is pretty low on people’s watch lists, although the NRCC has started to spending some money on ads here.

    VA-02: POS for Scott Rigell (9/26-27, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Glenn Nye (D-inc): 35

    Scott Rigell (R): 42

    Kenny Golden (I): 5  

    Undecided: 18

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

    On top of the NRCC internal poll leaked yesterday (giving Scott Rigell a decent if not-awe-inspiring 45-40 lead over Glenn Nye in an Ayres McHenry poll on 9/23-26), now Rigell’s out with his own internal poll from POS giving him a slightly bigger lead. There’s one very strange detail here, though: the voters going for tea-flavored indie Kenny Golden seem to be coming out Glenn Nye’s column, as that subsample has 59/23 Obama approvals. The MoE on that subsample is probably astronomical, but still, there seems to be some message confusion here about who’s who.

    WI-07: POS for Sean Duffy (9/21-22, likely voters, no trendlines):

    Julie Lassa (D): 43

    Sean Duffy (R): 47

    (MoE: ±4.9%)

    With Julie Lassa having released a poll yesterday showing her down by 1, Sean Duffy retaliated with a poll showing, well, not much difference: his poll has Lassa down by 4. This gets a little confusing, because the NRCC is out with a totally different internal poll today giving Duffy a better result (see below). At any rate, the polls taken in combination seem to give him a definite advantage here.

    NRSC: Here are some McCain Bucks that are actually worth something in the real world! Apparently feeling confident in his general (having survived a bigger challenge in his primary from J.D. Hayworth), John McCain just kicked $1 million over to the NRSC. (Alternate title: Good news! From John McCain!)

    NRCC: In addition to those couple candidate-released internals, the NRCC leaked five more internals of its own today to the Hotline, the majority of which confirm the expected trouble in three Midwestern open seats, but one showing a sleepy race is a live one and one with flat-out awful numbers for the Dem:

    WI-08: Steve Kagen (D-inc) 39%, Reid Ribble (R) 57% (OnMessage, 9/15-16)

    IL-17: Phil Hare (D-inc) 43%, Bobby Schilling (R) 44% (Tarrance Group, 9/23-25)

    WI-07: Julie Lassa (D) 38%, Sean Duffy (R) 52% (Fabrizio, McLaughlin 9/15-16)

    MI-01: Gary McDowell (D) 24%, Dan Benishek (R) 40% (Hill Research, 9/19-22) (um, no polling on Glenn Wilson?)

    IN-08: Trent Van Haaften (D) 20%, Larry Buchson (R) 41% (OnMessage, 9/13-14)

    American Crossroads: Money’s flowing out of American Crossroads as fast as it flows in, from their handful of billionaire donors: they’re launching TV ad buys worth $724K in CO-Sen, $618K in IL-Sen, $346K in NV-Sen, $267K in PA-Sen, $492K in WA-Sen, $384K in MO-Sen, and also $247K in direct mail in FL-Sen. (Here’s a peek at their WA-Sen ad.)

    NFIB: Committees? Who needs ’em? The National Federation of Independent Business is getting straight into the IE business, too, and in a big way. They have a new PA-Sen ad out (see the link). They’re also starting to advertise in NC-Sen, WI-Sen, IN-08, WI-07, ND-AL, OH-16, NM-01, NV-03, FL-08, SC-05, VA-05, and WI-08.

    State legislatures: Louis Jacobson, writing for Governing magazine, updates his state legislature projections, with almost every move in the Republicans’ favor. 25 of the 28 chambers “in play” are Democratic-controlled. The most alarming moves include moving the Dem-held Pennsylvania House and Ohio House to Lean Republican, and the North Carolina Senate and Colorado House to Tossup. The one remaining viable pickup opportunity for Dems is the Texas House.

    Polltopia: There isn’t exactly anything new in this Politico piece from Maggie Haberman, but it does convey that professional pollsters and poll watchers in the Beltway are throwing up their hands in frustration about wildly vacillating, inconclusive polling this cycle as the rest of us are… showing that, really, nobody has much of a clue as to what’s about to happen. Just to help everyone take a deep breath and keep things in perspective here…

    SSP TV:

    FL-Sen: The winning ad of the day comes from the Florida Democratic Party, on Kendrick Meek’s behalf, letting Charlie Crist do all the talking about how he’s really a conservative Republican

    WI-Sen: I actually agree with the Fix here that this is an effective Ron Johnson ad, letting him play the outsider in the same way that Russ Feingold did 18 years ago

    WV-Sen: The NRSC contrasts at-home Joe Manchin vs. Washington Joe Manchin

    FL-Gov: The FDP is also out with two different ads in the Governor’s race, hitting Rick Scott on his Columbia/HCA tenure and contrasting that with Alex Sink’s uncontroversial time at Bank of America

    MA-Gov: The RGA keeps hitting Tim Cahill (on the lottery this time), knowing full well that less Cahill means more Charlie Baker

    MD-Gov: Martin O’Malley is one politician embracing instead of fleeing Barack Obama, in a new radio ad

    FL-22: Ron Klein is out with another anti-Allen West ad, but it’s back to the tax liens instead of dipping into the well of crazy

    IA-01: AFF is out with a mondo-sized ad buy against Bruce Braley in a race that no one else but them seems to be paying attention to (for $800K!) (h/t desmoinesdem)

    KS-03: Stephene Moore is finally out with her first TV spot, which is mostly an attack on Kevin Yoder (though self-narrated, which is unusual for that)

    NH-02: Ann McLane Kuster’s out with an ad hitting Charlie Bass for wanting to “pick up where he left off”

    NV-03: Here’s a link to that Dina Titus “peas in a pod” ad that we mentioned this morning, tying Joe Heck to Sharron Angle

    PA-12: Mark Critz’s first ad talks about his own hardscrabble roots, and about outsourcing

    WI-07: As cool as it is to watch, how many more ads is Sean Duffy going to keep playing lumberjack in?

    Rasmussen:

    OH-Sen: Lee Fisher (D) 42%, Rob Portman (R) 51%