Former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie (R) “has told senior members of his party that he will challenge Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia and announce his candidacy as early as next week, giving Republicans a top-tier candidate in what has become one of the nation’s most competitive swing states,” the New York Times reports.

“The bid by Mr. Gillespie, a longtime party operative turned lobbyist with ties to both Republican grass-roots and establishment wings, also underlines the intent of more mainstream Virginia Republicans to take back control of the party after a Tea Party-backed candidate lost the governorship.”

Larry Sabato: “Another midterm election beckons, and over the next 10 months we’ll see headlines about a thousand supposedly critical developments–the “game changers” and the “tipping points.” But we all know there aren’t a thousand powerful drivers of the vote. I’d argue that three factors are paramount: the president, the economy and the election playing field. And, at least preliminarily, those three factors seem to be pointing toward Republican gains in both houses in the 2014 midterms.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) campaign released a brutal video attack on primary challenger Matt Bevin (R).

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First Read: “Congress is about to get more polarized in the Senate with all the retirements of moderates and look at the House, a place most would think couldn’t get MORE ideologically divided. Just in the last month, on the Republican side, there have been the retirements of Virginia’s Frank Wolf, Iowa’s Tom Latham, and Pennsylvania’s Jim Gerlach. On the Democratic side, out are North Carolina’s Mike McIntyre (announced yesterday) and Utah’s Jim Matheson. If you toss in Arkansas’ Tim Griffin and New Jersey’s Jon Runyan, and the pool of congressional members willing to vote with the other side is shrinking. Whatever’s left of the middle or the pragmatic caucus is disappearing. And there wasn’t much of a middle to begin with. Every one of these retiring members is going to be replaced by someone more partisan. It doesn’t matter which party wins control overall, the two parties, ideologically, will be farther apart and that guarantees even more gridlock.”

Gov. Chris Christie (R) “is learning that being a Party of One can be pretty lonely when times get tough,” Politico reports.

“Democrats predictably condemned the New Jersey governor after a bombshell report Wednesday tied one of his top staffers to a burgeoning scandal that’s already been dubbed ‘Bridge-gate.’ More notable was the dearth of Republicans who rose to Christie’s defense — and, privately, the schadenfreude expressed by some of them that a man who’s never been shy about taking shots at others was suddenly on the receiving end.”

New York Times: “The usually verbose and swaggering Mr. Christie, who once mocked questions from reporters about the abrupt closing of lanes to the bridge, seemed at a loss for how to respond on Wednesday.”

“Prominent Republicans are working to recast the party’s message about tackling poverty and boosting the middle class amid concerns that a relentless focus on the troubles of Obamacare will not be enough to guarantee electoral success,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The move seeks to address widespread public anxiety about the uneven economic recovery, a topic that Democrats have largely had to themselves in recent months. But even as party strategists push for a higher-profile approach, conservative lawmakers face a difficult challenge in crafting a message that appeals to middle-income and working-class voters while maintaining support among the party base.”

“It’s the latest acknowledgment that Republicans’ traditional emphasis on fiscal austerity and smaller government — while popular among grass-roots conservatives and gospel to much of their House majority — has been difficult to sell among the broader electorate.”