Ken Cuccinelli (R) “put some distance between himself and the man he wants to succeed with his strongest remarks to date on the cascading gift scandal engulfing Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

Said Cuccinelli: “What we’ve all been seeing is very painful for Virginia, and it’s completely inconsistent with Virginia’s very reserved traditions. Right now there are two investigations running, one of which began with my referral, and we need to let those play out. However, all of this emphasizes the need for clearer and faster disclosures that cover the whole family, as well as a cap on the size and types of gifts.”

Cory Booker (D) raised $4.6 million for his Senate campaign in April, May and June, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “a huge haul could vault him well ahead of all other candidates in the push for campaign dollars.”

Booker ended the quarter with $4.5 million cash on hand for his U.S. Senate race in New Jersey.

A new Wall Street Journal-NBC 4-Marist Poll finds former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) leads Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer (D) by nine percentage points in the race for New York City comptroller, 42% to 33%.

Nearly a quarter of voters were undecided, but two-thirds of Democrats, or 67%, said they believe Mr. Spitzer, who resigned as governor five years ago after he was caught patronizing prostitutes, should be given a second chance.

Mitt Romney will headline a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Republican Party next month, in what is believe to be his first political fundraiser since last year’s presidential campaign, WMUR reports.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Rep. Bruce Braley (D) leading potential GOP challengers in a U.S. Senate race by margins ranging from 9 to 13 points.

Braley tops Matt Whitaker (R), 43% to 34%, beats Joni Ernst (R), 45% to 33%, leads Mark Jacobs, 44% to 32% and beats Sam Clovis (R), 43% to 31%.

Key findings: “Part of the reason for Braley’s early leads is that he’s a solid candidate. He has a +10 net favorability rating with 34% of voters rating him positively to 24% with a negative opinion. It also has a lot to do with the Republican candidates being so unknown at this point though. Whitaker is the best known but still has only 23% name recognition and from there it’s 20% for Ernst, 19% for Clovis, 18% for Young, and 16% for Jacobs.”