The Federal Election Commission says former Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) “has passed the threshold of exploring a run for Senate in 2016 and must declare himself a candidate – or disavow his bid,” PoliticsPA reports.

In an awkward appearance with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in his home state, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) stopped short of endorsing Alexander’s re-election bid, the Tennessean reports.

Said Paul: “I’d rather not go there. I’d hate to be painted as ‘Oh, I’ve come here and I’m not endorsing him’ because I think that’s the wrong message to send. I’m very supportive of Sen. Alexander, and I hope he doesn’t get an opponent.”

National Journal:
“Republican officials are grumbling that Liz Cheney passed up an
opportunity to run in her adopted state of Virginia, leaving the party
empty-handed as it searches for a challenger against Sen. Mark Warner.
Instead of taking one for the Republican team, she’s sparked an
intra-party war in Wyoming. And, some strategists say, her prospects
would be slightly better running in a battleground state than waging a
long-shot primary battle against a popular sitting senator.”

Charlie Cook: “Republicans have made no progress in
improving their party’s standing with the electorate overall, or for
that matter with minorities, women, young voters, and those
self-described moderates. Social and cultural issues continue to plague
their party among many young and some women voters. Intransigence among
conservatives in the party seems to be preventing the GOP congressional
leadership from trying to lance the immigration boil. Even deeper cuts
in discretionary domestic spending are providing considerable cannon
fodder for Democratic media consultants, who are preparing ads for next
year. Not to mention that a government shutdown would be considerably
more likely to damage Republicans than Democrats.”

“On the other hand,
voters increasingly seem to have hit the mute button on President Obama.
They are no longer listening to him, and his approval numbers seem to
be dropping by about a point every three weeks. This does not seem to be
because of any of the so-called scandals that got Republicans so worked
up during the winter and spring, but more because voters have a
perception of Obama as a not particularly effective leader. They tend to
give him points for having good intentions on most issues, but they see
him as ineffectual. Add to that growing concern over the Affordable
Care Act, with only a third of Americans telling pollsters that it will
help the nation’s health care situation, and less than a quarter who
believe that it will help their own family’s health care.”

“A new group dedicated to paving the way for a Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016 has already recruited dozens of the Democratic Party’s elite donors and bundlers, effectively kicking off the presidential money hunt more than three years before Election Day,” the New York Times reports.

“The group, Ready for Hillary, is aiming to build Mrs. Clinton a grass-roots network that would give her a prohibitive edge in any Democratic primary and a significant advantage over potential Republican rivals, channeling enthusiasm for Mrs. Clinton, a former first lady and New York senator, into Facebook hits, Twitter followers and affinity groups around the country.”

Key detail: Disclosure reports due to be filed with the FEC this week “will show more than a million dollars raised since the group began fund-raising in earnest this spring.”

“I am not terribly interested in what people who are not voters in the city of New York have to say.”

— Anthony Weiner, quoted by the New York Daily News, in response to a question about whether Bill and Hillary Clinton, who live in Westchester County, could influence his decision to stay in the mayoral race.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Alaska finds Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) leading Mead Treadwell (R), 44% to 40%, and crushing Joe Miller (R), 55% to 32%.

The poll also shows Begich way ahead of Sarah Palin (R), 52% to 40%.

The Jackson Clarion Ledger looks at speculation that Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) may decide to retire next year.

“One person said they left their last conversation with the elder statesmen with the sense that Cochran was trying to convince himself that running for re-election was the right thing to do. In fact, I’ve heard more and more that Cochran seems to be leaning toward retirement rather than running again. I wouldn’t count him out, but if he doesn’t run again, you can expect a wild and wooly Republican primary.”

Washington Post: “Perhaps more than any previous year, the 2014 midterm campaigns feature a wave of daughters eager to embrace their fathers’ political legacies while forging their own political futures. And at a time when the 2016 presidential field appears likely to include both the son of a prominent politician (Rand Paul) and the wife of a president (Hillary Rodham Clinton), it is no surprise that daughters are forming a political class of their own.”