Jeb Bush is calling President Obama’s initial response to Ebola “incompetent,” Politico reports.
Said Bush: “It looked very incompetent to begin with, and that fueled fears that may not be justified. And now you have states that are legitimately acting on their concerns, creating a lot more confusion than is necessary.”
“In a significant shift, business groups gave more money to Republican candidates than to Democrats in seven of the most competitive Senate races in recent months, in some cases taking the unusual step of betting against sitting senators,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Shifts in business donations have foreshadowed the outcome of several recent elections. Business PACs began shifting toward Democrats late in the 2006 midterm cycle, ahead of a political wave in which Democrats regained control of both the House and Senate. Business contributions swung again early in 2010, ahead of a wave that year that gave Republicans a House majority and gains in the Senate.”
“How small is the field of competitive House races? So narrow that just 25 contests account for 80 percent of all reported outside spending in the general election,” the New York Times reports.
“The bulk of House contests have seen virtually no outside spending this year, with 193 having less than $10,000 spent. You could form a slim majority with the 220 races that have had less than $25,000 in independent spending for the general election.”
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“Attorneys general are now the object of aggressive pursuit by lobbyists and lawyers who use campaign contributions, personal appeals at lavish corporate-sponsored conferences and other means to push them to drop investigations, change policies, negotiate favorable settlements or pressure federal regulators,” an investigation by the New York Times has found.
“A robust industry of lobbyists and lawyers has blossomed as attorneys general have joined to conduct multistate investigations and pushed into areas as diverse as securities fraud and Internet crimes. But unlike the lobbying rules covering other elected officials, there are few revolving-door restrictions or disclosure requirements governing state attorneys general.”
“Hackers thought to be working for the Russian government breached the unclassified White House computer networks in recent weeks, sources said, resulting in temporary disruptions to some services while cybersecurity teams worked to contain the intrusion,” the Washington Post reports.
“White House officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said that the intruders did not damage any of the systems and that, to date, there is no evidence the classified network was hacked.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Iowa finds Joni Ernst (R) is inching ahead among likely voters in the U.S. Senate race and now has 49% to 45% lead over Bruce Braley (D).
“Republicans have the opportunity to take control of a record number of state legislative chambers across the country this year, as Democrats play defense in unfavorable terrain,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Republican landslide in 2010 and the subsequent redistricting process in 2012 gave the GOP control of a nearly unprecedented number of legislative chambers. Today, the party controls 59 of the 98 partisan chambers in 49 states, while Democrats control only 39 chambers (One legislature, Nebraska’s is officially nonpartisan). Once election results are tabulated in the 6,049 legislative races on the ballot in 46 states this year, Republicans could find themselves running even more.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Connecticut finds Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) and challenger Tom Foley (R) tied 43% to 43% in the race for governor.
Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) “is crisscrossing the country in a bid to run up his House majority and ease his job leading a fractious GOP conference,” The Hill reports.
“The Ohio Republican is spending the final, precious days of the 2014 campaign flying into House races that had been seen as out of reach for the GOP just weeks ago.”
“Whatever. Get in line. I’ve been sued lots of times before.”
— New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by NBC News, practically daring a nurse to sue him for quarantining her even after she tested negative for Ebola.
Sarah Palin told Fox Business that she may run for office again, in part to “bug the crap” out of liberals.
Said Palin: “Those haters out there don’t understand that it invigorates me. The more they’re pouring on the more I’m gonna bug the crap out of them by being out there with a voice, with a message, hopefully running for office in the future, too.”
Jonathan Bernstein lists five states “most at risk for polling mishaps” in their Senate elections, ranked from most to least likely: Georgia, Alaska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota.
“This doesn’t mean any of them will hold surprises once the votes are counted. It just means that right now there are reasons to look at the polls with some skepticism.”
The AP released an interesting description of how they tally votes in national elections.
A new Loras College Poll in Iowa finds Bruce Braley (D) with an edge over Joni Ernst (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 44%.
A new SurveyUSA poll in Georgia finds David Perdue (R) leading Michelle Nunn (D) in the U.S. Senate race by three points, 48% to 45%.
Last week’s survey found Nunn leading by two points.
Martha Coakley (D) released an internal poll that shows her trailing Charlie Baker (R) in the race for Massachusetts governor by two points, 44% to 42%, the Boston Globe reports.
Roll Call highlights the battle for control of the U.S. Senate.
A new Monmouth University poll in South Dakota finds Mike Rounds (R) with a double-digit lead over Rick Weiland (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 31%, with Larry Pressler (I) at 19%.
A new Survey USA poll shows Rounds leading Weiland, 43% to 32% with Pressler at 19%.
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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