A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Cory Booker (D) leading challenger Jeff Bell (R) in the U.S. Senate race by double-digits, 47% to 37%.
Accidental Congressman Loses Primary
The accidental congressman’s tenure in Washington came to an end Tuesday evening, when Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) lost the Republican primary to attorney David Trott (R) in this district northwest of Detroit, Roll Call reports.
Detroit Free Press: “Bentivolio had gone into the Republican primary with grave doubts hanging over his political future, and only one potentially significant advantage: his incumbency. From the beginning, it looked like that might not be enough for him to beat Trott, however.”
Amash Survives Primary Challenge in Michigan
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) “survived a challenge Tuesday from businessman Brian Ellis (R) in a west Michigan primary that, if nothing else, showed just how popular Amash is despite alienating some powerful elements of the mainstream Republican Party,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
TPM says Amash gave a cutting victory speech who he said ran a “despicable smear” campaign.
Roberts Wins in Kansas
Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R-KS) victory over Milton Wolf (R) in Tuesday’s Republican primary “was part of a mainstream conservatives blow to the tea party movement, which also lost a a first-term Michigan congressman to a more moderate GOP businessman,” the Topeka Capital Journal reports.
“The Senate’s establishment is on a roll, with incumbents also prevailing in Texas, Kentucky, South Carolina and Mississippi, though it took six-term Sen. Thad Cochran two tries before defeating Chris McDaniel, who is challenging the outcome.”
Staffer Was Concerned About McDonnell’s Action
“Just six minutes after then-Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell e-mailed a wealthy businessman about a $50,000 loan, he sent a note to a staffer asking to discuss state university studies of the man’s new dietary supplement,” the Washington Post reports.
“The staffer, former chief policy adviser Jasen Eige, testified Tuesday that he didn’t know about the loan negotiations between his boss and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., then the chief executive of the supplement company. But he said that he was concerned about acting on the governor’s February 2012 e-mail.”
Said Eige: “This was just not something the governor’s office should be involved in. It wasn’t our role, our place to get in the middle of something like this.”
Poll Finds Record Levels of Anxiety and Frustration
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds Americans “are registering record levels of anxiety about the opportunities available to younger generations and are pessimistic about the nation’s long-term prospects, directing their blame at elected leaders in Washington.”
Key findings: “76% of adults lack confidence that their children’s generation will have a better life than they do–an all-time high. Some 71% of adults think the country is on the wrong track, a leap of 8 points from a June survey, and 60% believe the U.S. is in a state of decline.”
“What’s more, seven in 10 adults blamed the malaise more on Washington leaders than on any deeper economic trends, and 79% expressed some level of dissatisfaction with the American political system.”
Clinton Leases Office Space in New York City
“It looks like Hillary Clinton has officially begun her campaign to be the next President of the United States. Three sources tell Hollywood Life that the former Secretary of State has rented sunny, spacious digs for two years in a midtown office tower, as the headquarters for her 2016 presidential bid.”
BuzzFeed may have found the building.
New Leaker of National Security Documents
“The federal government has concluded there’s a new leaker exposing national security documents in the aftermath of surveillance disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden,” CNN reports.
“Proof of the newest leak comes from national security documents that formed the basis of a news story published Tuesday by The Intercept, the news site launched by Glenn Greenwald, who also published Snowden’s leaks.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Well, I think that it may well be the final destruction of much of the modern Democratic Party.”
— Newt Gingrich, in an interview with Laura Ingraham, on President Obama taking executive action on immigration.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If you were to ask many folks in the House is the president violated the law and will he be worthy of impeachment, I think a fair number of folks would say yes.”
— Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX), quoted by BuzzFeed.
Predict Senate Control
270 to Win has just launched a very cool 2014 Senate Election Simulation.
The model starts with an average of the forecasts used by the Washington Post and New York Times and allows you to adjust the outcome probabilities for each seat.
Treadwell Makes It a Race in Alaska
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Alaska finds Mead Treadwell (R) closing the gap in the Republican primary for Senate, but he still trails Dan Sullivan (R) by six points, 35% to 29%, with Joe Miller (R) at 20%.
In general election match ups, Sen. Mark Begich (D) continues to have modest leads over all of his potential Republican opponents.
Wolf Maintains Solid Lead in Pennsylvania
A new Magellan Strategies (R) poll in Pennsylvania finds Tom Wolf (D) leading Gov. Tom Corbett (R) by 12 points amonglikely voters, 38% to 50%.
The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy
Just published: The Great Abraham Lincoln Pocket Watch Conspiracy: A Novel by Jacopo della Quercia.
Rivera’s Stealth Campaign Continues
Miami Herald: “For the second time in a week, David Rivera, the embattled former Miami congressman who claimed he had suspended his campaign for his old seat, has reached out to voters through automated telephone calls.”
Tennant Says She Doesn’t Agree with Obama on Most Things
Maj. Gen. Allen Tackett, the campaign chairman for West Virginia U.S. Senate nominee Natalie Tennant (D), was recorded on video saying Tennant agrees with President Obama “on most of his policies” forcing the campaign to say he misspoke, the Charleston Daily Mail reports.
Said Tennant campaign spokeswoman Jenny Donohue: “Natalie does not support the majority of the president’s policies.”
Tight Race for North Carolina Senate
A new Civitas poll in North Carolina finds Sen. Kay Hagan (D) barely leading challenger Thom Tillis (R) in a three way U.S. Senate race, 41% to 39%, with Libertarian Sean Haugh at 7%.
In a head-to-head match up, Tillis leads by two points, 45% to 43%.
FitzGerald Did Not Have Valid Driver’s License
Columbus Dispatch: “Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ed FitzGerald had not had a regular Ohio driver’s license for at least five years when Westlake police found him in a car with a woman early one morning two years ago. If he drove his car home after dropping her off at her hotel, as he said he did, he would have violated Ohio law requiring those with just a temporary permit to be accompanied by a licensed driver.”
