Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) campaign put out a polling memo claiming a three-to-one edge over his closest opponent in the Republican primary, the Tennessean reports.
Alexander leads Joe Carr (R) 62% to 17% among likely Republican primary voters. Other GOP candidates trailed farther behind with Brenda Lenard drawing 2% and Danny Paige, 1 %. Eighteen percent were undecided.
A new WPRI 12/Providence Journal poll in Rhode Island finds Angel Taveras (D) and Gina Raimondo (D) locked in a tight battle for the Democratic nomination for governor, with Taveras holding a slight lead, 31% to 27%, and political newcomer Clay Pell (D) at 15%.
However, an even larger share of primary voters – 25% – haven’t decided whom they’ll support in the September 9 primary.
Biographer Robert Caro told the New York Times that he had no interest in seeing actor Bryan Cranston in his starring role as Lyndon B. Johnson in “All the Way.”
Said Caro: “I have tried for a long time to get fixed in my mind, so that I could describe him accurately, an image of Lyndon Johnson that was as close to reality as possible. I didn’t want to see someone playing Lyndon Johnson or talk to the actor playing him because I was afraid that image would become blurred for me. The better the actor the more danger there would be that that would happen.”
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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said that she “backs a proposal that would make it legal for most South Carolinians to carry guns – concealed or in the open – without a permit or the training that the state currently requires,” the Columbia State reports.
“Haley made her comments after she signed into law a bill that allows gun owners with licenses to carry concealed weapons into businesses that serve alcohol – restaurants and bars – as long as they do not drink alcohol and the businesses did not bar guns.”
Kevin Faulconer (R) won a decisive victory over David Alvarez (D) in the San Diego mayor’s race, 55% to 46%, “signaling a new chapter for the city after the scandal-plagued tenure of former Mayor Bob Filner (D),” the San Diego Union Tribune reports.
“A Faulconer victory breathes new life into the local Republican Party by restoring its control of the Mayor’s Office that its candidates have occupied for much of the past four decades. Faulconer also becomes the only Republican mayor of a top 10 U.S. city, making him one of the party’s highest-profile leaders in the state.”
A new Hays Research poll in Alaska finds Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) leading Dan Sullivan (R) for U.S. Senate, 45% to 33%, with Joe Miller (I) at just 10%.
“Democrats and Republicans are clearing the decks of dangerous political issues that could sink their chances in the midterm elections,” The Hill reports.
“This unusually cautious approach comes nine months before Election Day and illustrates how both parties are reluctant to tackle anything that doesn’t poll well. With the battle for control of the Senate projected to be extremely close, neither side wants to drift into a sudden political storm.”
The New York Times looks at eight Republican governors facing re-election “who swept into office in 2010 in states that President Obama won two years earlier, driven by the Tea Party at the height of its influence.”
“But perhaps the most closely watched races will be in four Northern industrial states whose white working-class voters were once solidly Democratic but are now up for grabs. Besides Mr. Walker, the Rustbelt Four are Govs. Rick Snyder of Michigan, John R. Kasich of Ohio and Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania… How the governors fare will say a lot about whether their conservative policies provide a template for their party’s ability to appeal to independents and wavering Democrats in 2016, or whether those voters can be coaxed back to the Democrats.”
Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) accused a group that supports Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) of lying about him, by asserting that he had been “jailed more than once” and was “charged with a felony,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“That is strange, because Stockman has admitted to these facts, several times.”
The Texas Tribune broke the story and has Stockman’s mugshot from 1977.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Louisiana finds that the U.S. Senate race has tightened with Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) ahead of Bill Cassidy (R) by just one point, 45%t o 44%.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) is calling a moratorium on executions while he is governor, the Seattle Times reports.
Said Inslee: “Equal justice under the law is the state’s primary responsibility. And in death penalty cases, I’m not convinced equal justice is being served.”
Inslee said there was “too much at stake” in death penalty cases in what he termed an “imperfect system.”
Some great clicks over at Wonk Wire:
A new Chicago Tribune/WGN-TV poll in Illinois finds Bruce Rauner (R) has jumped out to a big lead in the Republican race for governor after spending millions of dollars on television ads to introduce himself to Illinois voters.
The survey showed Rauner at 40%, followed by Bill Brady (R) at 20%, Dan Rutherford (R) at 13% and Kirk Dillard (R) at 11%.
“They just want people to starve and it’s disgusting.”
— Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), quoted by Politicker, on the Republican approach to the farm bill.
Joe Klein: “I wasn’t expecting much dirt from the Diane Blair papers, even though they were splashed internationally on Drudge on Sunday, with a big SCANDAL headline. And I wasn’t disappointed: not much there, except Hillary’s stiletto discription of Lewinsky as a ‘narcissistic loony tune.’ Indeed, the ‘editor’ of the ‘publication’ that ‘broke’ this story described the then-First Lady as ‘surprisingly human.’ To which I can only ask: Why surprisingly? I’ve known Hillary Clinton for nearly 30 years now. I wouldn’t say I know her particularly well, but well enough to describe her in an entirely different way-as relentlessly human…”
“My overwhelming reaction to the release of the Blair papers was sadness-sadness because I remember Diane Blair fondly, the sort of smart, level-headed person I’d want as a friend. But also because it brought back the disgraceful bilge volcano of the Clinton years-the non-stop garbage peddled and sleazed by Drudge and Rush and the then frisky young Fox Network, the fact that the Clintons were accused of drug-trafficking, murder, financial scandals and all sorts of vile craziness-none of which proved to be true. And no apologies have ever been forthcoming from the greasy perps.”
First Read: “Republicans are jumping all over another delay the Obama administration announced when it comes to the health-care law. The Treasury Department on Monday unveiled its final rule for the employer mandate for businesses… Under these rules, if your business has between 50-99 workers, you don’t need to provide health insurance for your employees until 2016. But if it has 100 or more workers, you must offer insurance to 70% of workers by 2015 and 95% by 2016, or pay a penalty.”
“On the one hand, we’re not surprised Republicans are attacking what seems to be another delay — it would be political malpractice not to try to capitalize on it. On the other hand, the attacks ring a little hollow. After all, this is the rule-making process for ALL laws; rule-making gives the executive branch (whether it’s run by Democrats or Republicans) a lot of leeway in implementing laws. In addition, it’s hard for Republicans to hate mandates (whether it’s for employers or individuals) and then be upset when the mandate is softened to help employers implement the law.”
Charlie Cook doesn’t buy the House GOP argument that they won’t pass immigration reform because they lack trust in President Obama.
“Although a certain amount of paranoia is natural for any elected official, it is particularly prevalent now among Republicans, who are enmeshed in a civil war between the Republican Party establishment and the GOP’s tea-party/most conservative elements.”
“Unable to sell their conference on their latest plan to raise the debt limit, Republican leaders plan to vote today on a ‘clean’ debt limit increase,” Roll Call reports.
Said Speaker John Boehner: “We don’t have 218 votes. When you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing.”
The Week: Lessons from Boehner’s latest failure
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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