“Once fearing he would be viewed as ‘a loser for life’ if he failed to win the presidency, Mitt Romney is trying to re-emerge as a force in Republican politics,” the AP reports.

“Romney has quietly sought kingmaker status in the GOP’s fight for the Senate majority this fall and its quest to retake the White House in 2016. The effort at revival is fueling whispers about a third presidential run. But those closest to Romney suggest he’s more interested in shaping party politics by lending his name and record-breaking fundraising machine to what he considers the next generation of electable conservatives.”

A new We Ask America poll in Illinois shows Bruce Rauner (R) with a 10-point lead over Gov. Pat Quinn (D) in the race for governor, 47% to 37%, with 16% undecided.

“Very, very capable public servant, great secretary of State, first lady. Very capable.”

— Gov. Rick Perry (R), quoted by the Los Angeles Times, on Hillary Clinton.

“Suddenly, the 2016 Republican field has a new reason to worry about immigration reform: saying anything at all can be hazardous to your presidential chances,” Politico reports.

Rep. Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) loss Tuesday night “proved how difficult a messaging challenge the issue will be for any 2016 candidate who dares to touch the rail. Advocate — even a little bit — for a deal, and you risk the ire of the base and being tagged as a supporter of ‘amnesty.’ Go too far the other way, and you’ll surely face trouble in November against the Democrats.”

Oregon U.S. Senate candidate Monica Wehby (R), seeking to discount polls showing her well behind Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), said her own pollster shows her virtually neck-and-neck with the Democratic incumbent, the Oregonian reports.

“Wehby’s firm, The Alexandria, Va.-based Tarrance Group, said its June 1-3 survey of 650 likely voters showed that Merkley is at 41 percent and Wehby is at 39 percent. That is strongly at odds with two surveys conducted independently of the two campaigns shortly after the May 20 primary that showed Merkley ahead of Wehby by between 10 and 13 percentage points.”

“Ted Cruz is a total nihilist, shutting down the government. That and Rand Paul’s isolationism appeal to the lowest common denominator, which would make us a permanent minority in terms of presidential races.”

— Rep. Peter King (R-KY), quoted by Greg Sargent, saying the Republican party risks becoming a permanent minority.

Nate Cohn runs the numbers and finds that Democratic spoilers probably did not contribute enough votes to account for Rep. Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) margin of defeat as his pollster has suggested.

“There were undoubtedly Democratic spoilers… But it would be hard to argue that Democrats made up the margin of victory. Turnout was still far, far higher in Republican precincts.”