New York Times: “As President Obama prepares to announce his strategy on Wednesday for combating the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, there is no shortage of condemnation from Republicans like Mr. Paul, Mr. Cruz and Mr. Jindal, who are considering running for president in 2016. Yet they, like almost every Republican who might try to succeed Mr. Obama, have a common résumé gap: foreign policy experience.”

“In fact, several of them will have to confront an especially glaring paradox. Like Mr. Obama when he first ran for president, they are relatively young first-term senators, with limited experience beyond the country’s borders.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Florida finds Charlie Crist (D) leading Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the race for governor, 42% to 39%.

Nebraska Lt. Gov. LaVon Heidemann (R) has resigned, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

Heidemann also quit as running mate for Pete Ricketts (R), just one day “after a court issued a protection order to his sister, who alleged that he grabbed her wrist and pushed her in a quarrel over their elderly mother.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) was asked by the Columbus Dispatch if he would run for president if he wins re-election this year.

Said Kasich: “I have never really sat down with my great friends, with my close friends that I’ve known for 30 years, and said, ‘What do you think?’ Until you do that, you can’t even think about it, because I think most of ’em would probably say no.”

He added: “It’s a big, big commitment. It’s about the family … and the other thing is, I like the job I have. I like being governor. I think I can influence the national debate, perhaps, by what we do here. You know, I tried to run for president once… It was really brutal.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Michigan finds Gary Peters (D) matching his largest lead ever over Terri Lynn Land (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 43% to 36%, with third party candidates combining for 7%.

Key finding: “The story of the race is Land’s continually declining favorability. She has dropped a net 28 points since December, from starting out at +11 (34/23) to falling all the way down now to -17 (32/49). Michigan is a Democratic state to begin with, and Peters is getting 12% of the Republican vote, while only 5% of Democrats say they’re going to vote for Land.”

In the race for governor, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is barely ahead of Mark Schauer (D), 43% to 42%.

A new Akron Buckeye Poll in Ohio finds Gov. John Kasich (R) with a solid lead over challenger Ed Fitzgerald (D), 40% to 21%, with a large 39% still undecided.

“First of all, I think she’s fantastic and incredibly strong. But the problem with inevitability is it’s sometimes interpreted as entitlement and I think that voters want competition and they want their candidates to have to work for it. We don’t have to really get too deep into that because she hasn’t declared yet, but it’s just a concern that I hope her campaign keeps in mind.”

— Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), quoted by the Palm Beach Post, on Hillary Clinton.

Charlie Cook: “The Democrats whom I have talked and emailed with in recent weeks seem increasingly resigned to an ugly midterm election. Of course, it’s not likely to be the wipeout that 2010 was–after all, in the House, the best news for Democrats is that you can’t lose seats you don’t have. After losing 63 seats in 2010 and getting only eight back in 2012, Democrats don’t have that many more they can lose.”

“While the contest for the majority in the Senate has many facets, none is more important than whether Democrats can hold onto any of their six most vulnerable seats: those that are up in states that Mitt Romney carried in 2012. Three of them–the open seats in Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia–look pretty hopeless for Democrats. The remaining three incumbents–Mark Begich in Alaska, where Romney won by 14 points; Mark Pryor in Arkansas, which Romney carried by 24 points; and Mary Landrieu in Louisiana, where Romney won by 17 points–all look increasingly problematic for Democrats… If Democrats get wiped out in red states, that could be the whole ball game when it comes to Senate control.”

“With primary season over, the GOP is beginning to inch back to the center,” The Hill reports.

“Republican Senate and House candidates have begun to loudly embrace more moderate policies such as an increase in the minimum wage and over-the-counter birth control in an effort to win over swing voters and soften their image. GOP strategists say the battle between now and Election Day to decide control of the Senate and the size of Republicans’ House majority will focus on that sliver of voters in the middle.”

A new SurveyUSA poll in Kansas finds Greg Orman (I) leading Sen. Pat Roberts (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 37% to 36%.

Chad Taylor (D), who dropped out of the race but may remain on the ballot, would get 10%.