First Read: “It increasingly appears as if the VP race is coming down between Gingrich and Pence — a conventional Republican pick (Pence) vs. a disrupter (Gingrich); someone with a political future (Pence) vs. someone with nothing left to lose (Gingrich).”

Rick Klein: “Does Trump go Trump, or the opposite of Trump? If Newt Gingrich’s play-by-play of the veepstakes is accurate, and Donald Trump flew across the country Wednesday juggling ‘Gingrich, Pence, Pence, Gingrich’ in his head, the two paths could not be more clear. In Gingrich, Trump gets a version of himself with insider experience: Another thrice-married, dynamic 70-something with a proven history of tangling with the Clintons. ‘Do you really want a two-pirate ticket?’ Gingrich asked Wednesday night on Fox. (Yes, he really said this.) Pence isn’t talking openly about what he represents, thought that’s part of his appeal. He represents quiet stability, strong conservative values, and a voting and governing record – in other words, what Trump isn’t. In choosing a partner, Trump either doubles down or hedges his bet.”

First Read: “Yesterday brought us a whopping 10 battleground state polls… The good news for Donald Trump? He’s narrowed the gap: Ohio is tied; Florida is no longer trending in Hillary Clinton’s direction; and this all makes it much harder for rebellious GOP delegates to dump Trump at the convention. But here’s the bad news for him: These polls — which mostly show Clinton either ahead or tied in these battlegrounds — were all taken during or after Clinton’s roughest week of the general election, with FBI Director James Comey’s rebuke over her emails. So you could view these battleground numbers as a floor for Clinton, while Trump is still unable to break 40% in many of these states. (Indeed, look at the high undecided numbers; voters moved away from Clinton, but they didn’t move toward Trump.) And what should ring alarm bells for the GOP is the polling in Colorado and Virginia, where Clinton is up in high single digits/double digits.”

“On the other hand, these polls also come as Team Clinton has been outspending Team Trump over the battleground airwaves by a 40-to-1 margin. So it’s possible that Trump could improve his numbers if/when he starts airing TV ads. But here’s the bottom line: The email story alone isn’t going to win the presidential race for Trump. He’s got to deliver on his VP pick and convention to overtake Clinton.”

Three new Quinnipiac polls show good news for Republicans trying to hang on to control of the U.S. Senate:

• Florida: Sen. Marco Rubio (R) 50%, Rep. Patrick Murphy (D) 37%
• Ohio: Sen. Rob Portman (R) 47%, Gov. Ted Strickland (D) 40%
• Pennsylvania: Sen. Pat Toomey (R) 49%, Katie McGinty (D) 39%

“Look, in many ways Donald Trump is like a pirate. He’s outside the normal system, he gets things done, he’s bold, he’s actually like a figure out of a movie. In a lot of ways, my entire career has been a little bit like a pirate.”

— Newt Gingrich, quoted by Politico.

Bloomberg notes that a partial list of speakers at the Republican convention includes Newt Gingrich and Gov. Chris Christie but does not currently include Gov. Mike Pence.

A new New York Times/CBS News poll shows Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump has evaporated and the election is now tied, 40% to 40%.

Key findings: 67 percent of voters say Clinton is not honest and trustworthy.

“Mr. Trump is also distrusted by a large number of voters — 62 percent — but that number has stayed constant despite increased scrutiny on his business record and falsehoods in his public statements and Twitter messages. But Mrs. Clinton’s shifting and inaccurate explanations of her email practices at the State Department appear to have resonated more deeply with the electorate.”

A new AP-GfK poll finds that 81% of Americans say they would feel afraid following the election of one of the two polarizing politicians: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.

That includes a quarter who say it doesn’t matter who wins: they’re scared of both.

A new ad from Hillary Clinton uses Donald Trump’s own words to show that he’s not a very good role model.

“Republicans are bracing for the possibility of a drawn-out fight over Donald Trump’s nomination that could stretch into the convention next week, a spectacle party leaders are desperate to avoid,” the New York Times reports.

“As the party’s governing body convened in Cleveland on Wednesday for a series of organizational meetings, the possibility that the smoldering dissent over Mr. Trump could become a full-blown eruption on the convention floor was a top concern.”

“Party officials were working in overdrive behind the scenes to beat back two challenges. One would force a vote that could theoretically open up the convention to any candidate who wants to seek the nomination. A second, organized by supporters of gay rights, would strike the entire Republican platform, which is staunchly conservative in its treatment of sexuality, gender and religion.”

Donald Trump “has been promising a different kind of Republican National Convention, and plans obtained by the New York Times show that he is eager to put his showbiz stamp on the party’s gathering, even as he struggles to attract A-list talent.”

“The roster of speakers obtained by The Times, and confirmed by two people with direct knowledge of the convention planning, reveals a lineup lacking many of the party’s rising stars. Instead, it features some of Mr. Trump’s eclectic collection of friends, celebrities and relatives, from his Slovenian supermodel wife to professional golfer Natalie Gulbis.”

Included on the schedule is “a night highlighting the tragedy in Benghazi, Libya” and “a presentation detailing former President Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (D) was asked by NBC News whether he was being considered as a possible running mate for Hillary Clinton:

NBC News: So, let me ask you point blank, are you being vetted right now by the campaign.

Vilsack: Listen, those questions should obviously be directed to the campaign. What’s interesting about this to me is the speculation on the Democratic side has a whole host of people who could potentially do this job, and for the last several weeks it’s been a lot of folks on the Republican side who don’t want to be on the vice presidential list…

NBC News: So, to be clear, you’re not going to tell me if you are being vetted. Do you know that you’re not being vetted right now? Is there any information that we don’t know?

Vilsack: I think you just ask the campaign, and I’m sure they’ll be glad to give you all the information you need.