Hillary Clinton told a charity luncheon in Chicago that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who lost a tough primary challenger when Bill Daley dropped his bid yesterday, “has just been entered into the Guinness World Records book as luckiest politician,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

Real Clear Politics shows President Obama’s average net approval rate is now underwater by 6.6 percentage points.

Harry Enten: “Obama’s approval rating can greatly affect the 2014 midterm elections and, to a lesser extent, the 2016 presidential election… If the president’s approval rating were to hold, a very simple regression finds the Democrats would lose 30 seats in the House.”

“To be sure, the incumbent president’s approval rating matters less when he is not running for re-election… [Even so,] once we control for the economy, every 5pt increase in a president’s net approval rating increases his party’s candidate’s margin by 1pt in the [next] presidential election per Drew Linzer.”

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) will not
run for U.S. Senate in 2014, National Journal reports.

“Amash was tempted by the allure of a
campaign for higher office, sources say, but the second-term lawmaker
ultimately was unwilling to risk surrendering the clout he enjoys among
conservatives in the GOP-controlled House.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) leading Ken Cuccinelli (R) in the race for governor among likely voters, 44% to 41%, with Libertarian Robert Sarvis picking up 7% of the vote.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “McAuliffe is less disliked than Cuccinelli. Voters are not wild about either man, and that may be one reason why Sarvis is running so well. History tells us that third-party candidates tend to experience shrinking support as Election Day nears. If Sarvis does get 7% of the actual vote, that would reflect not just his strength but the weakness of the major party candidates.”

After weeks of pondering which office to seek, Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) will announce on Oct. 3 whether she’s running for governor, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.

Austin American Statesman: “Right now, it looks more than likely that Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D) will join a Davis ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. Beyond that it is not at all clear what if any Democrats might fill out a statewide ticket. Democrats last won statewide office in in Texas in 2004.”

The New York Times looks at how political donors legally prohibited from giving to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) are aiding him through the Republican Governor’s Association instead.

“The association has, in turn, poured $1.7 million into Mr. Christie’s re-election effort… Mr. Christie’s close relationship with the association provides a playbook for how carefully choreographed independent spending campaigns can undermine the rules meant to curtail the political influence of government contractors; New Jersey’s pay-to-play law strictly limits the participation of state contractors in political giving.”