Mitt Romney will headline a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Republican Party next month, in what is believe to be his first political fundraiser since last year’s presidential campaign, WMUR reports.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Rep. Bruce Braley (D) leading potential GOP challengers in a U.S. Senate race by margins ranging from 9 to 13 points.

Braley tops Matt Whitaker (R), 43% to 34%, beats Joni Ernst (R), 45% to 33%, leads Mark Jacobs, 44% to 32% and beats Sam Clovis (R), 43% to 31%.

Key findings: “Part of the reason for Braley’s early leads is that he’s a solid candidate. He has a +10 net favorability rating with 34% of voters rating him positively to 24% with a negative opinion. It also has a lot to do with the Republican candidates being so unknown at this point though. Whitaker is the best known but still has only 23% name recognition and from there it’s 20% for Ernst, 19% for Clovis, 18% for Young, and 16% for Jacobs.”

BuzzFeed finds leftover swag from Mitt Romney’s failed presidential campaign is being put to good use.

First Read: “The question now becomes whether McDonnell’s fall from grace hurts gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli, who Democrats point out also has close ties to Jonnie Williams (including accepting gifts from him). The Cuccinelli campaign responds that Cucinelli’s AG office initiated this investigation, and they don’t believe McAuliffe will be a credible messenger to attack them on this issue. But it’s hard to see how this doesn’t hurt Cuccinelli, because he needs to court moderates and the GOP business community, and right now McDonnell looks to be toxic to help him with those groups.”

“Ready for Hillary, the group encouraging Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, is hiring a new team of old rivals: a pair of President Obama’s top strategists who helped defeat her and put him in the White House,” ABC News reports.

The daily operations of a campaign-in-waiting for Clinton “will be overseen by Jeremy Bird, the national field director for the Obama campaign who was pivotal in building an army of grassroots supporters. Joining him is Mitch Stewart, who was one of Obama’s earliest campaign aides and led his effort in battleground states during the 2012 re-election campaign.”

Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Bird’s prowess as one of the pre-eminent field organizers in presidential politics lends the Ready for Hillary push further credibility as the movement attracts growing support. It also sends yet another signal to other Democrats pondering a bid that Mrs. Clinton would enter the contest with much of the party’s top donors and talent.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) has a 2-1 job approval rating and a 61% to 29% lead over challenger Barbara Buono (D).

However, just 20% of voters say they are more likely to vote for a state legislative candidate endorsed by Christie, with 15% less likely and 63% who say the governor’s endorsement won’t influence their vote.

Said pollster Maurice Carroll: “The governor continues to thrash Sen. Buono, but voters say they’re not inclined to support legislative candidates because Christie supports them, or, as a matter of fact, because Buono supports them. It could change when the real campaign starts after Labor Day, if Christie decides to emulate his mentor, former Gov. Tom Kean, and work for the rest of the ticket. But at this stage, Christie is good only for Christie.”

“Let’s see Bruce Braley paint me as a racist with a black wife.”

— Scott Schaben (R), quoted by the Carroll Daily Times Herald, saying his marriage to an African American woman would prevent opponents from portraying him as a racist in the Iowa U.S. Senate race.