Texas U.S. Senate candidate Dwayne Stovall (R) has a new ad out criticizing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for siding with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Says Stovall: “And you certainly don’t do all this to please some guy who looks and fights like a turtle.”

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Washington Post: “After a tumultuous week of party infighting and leadership stumbles, congressional Republicans are focused on calming their divided ranks in the months ahead, mostly by touting proposals that have wide backing within the GOP and shelving any big-ticket legislation for the rest of the year.”

“Comprehensive immigration reform, tax reform, tweaks to the federal health-care law — bipartisan deals on each are probably dead in the water for the rest of this Congress.”

A new Human Events/Gravis poll in Texas finds Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) leading primary challenger Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX), 43% to 28%, with 29% undecided.

Said pollster Doug Kaplan: “These are dangerous numbers for Cornyn, because they show that despite his power in the Senate and his familiarity with the voters, he has not yet made the sale.”

“I came here to hopefully shape the debate for 2016 — not join it, but shape it.”

— Rep. Darrell Issa (R-A), quoted by the New Hampshire Union Leader, on a visit to New Hampshire.

“A record seven African-American candidates are running for statewide office in 2014. Some could be eliminated in June’s primary elections, but it appears at least three black candidates will make it to November’s general election,” The State reports.

“South Carolina also is assured to elect its first African-American candidate in a statewide race since Reconstruction in one U.S. Senate race, where all three of the announced candidates are black.”

Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck (R) “is fighting back against the ‘war on women’ narrative that helped doom his Senate campaign in 2010. And the opening salvo in the battle to reclaim his name is coming in the form of a two-minute video entitled, Stephanie’s Story,” the Daily Caller reports.

“Aside from displaying a kinder, gentler Ken Buck, the video speaks to his interest in making policy… Buck promises this video is merely be the first in a series of maybe ten, or so, he will release.”

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New York Times: “As Democrats approach the 2014 midterm elections, they are grappling with an awkward reality: Their president’s health care law — passed almost entirely by Democrats — remains a political liability in many states, threatening their ability to hold on to seats in the Senate and the House.”

“As a result, party leaders have decided on an aggressive new strategy to address the widespread unease with the health care law, urging Democratic candidates to talk openly about the law’s problems while also offering their own prescriptions to fix them.”