As Jeb Bush “nears a decision to become the third member of his storied family to seek the presidency, the extended Bush clan and its attendant network, albeit with one prominent exception, are largely rallying behind the prospect and pulling the old machine out of the closet,” the New York Times reports.

“Just six years ago, at the end of the last tumultuous Bush presidency, this would have been all but unthinkable. But President Obama’s troubles, the internal divisions of the Republican Party, a newfound nostalgia for the first Bush presidency and a modest softening of views about the second have changed the dynamics enough to make plausible another Bush candidacy. And while Jeb Bush wants to run as his own man, invariably this is a family with something to prove.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) “bluntly warned that Republicans will blow the presidency in 2016 if they don’t make some radical changes – and quick,” Politico reports.

“McCarthy, speaking without a working microphone, told a group of Long Island donors that their gains in the House will amount to little if they can’t govern over the next two years.”

“Many of the governor’s races remain exceedingly close, according to the latest round of data from The New York Times/CBS News/YouGov online panel of more than 80,000 respondents. The data shows that there are 11 contests within 4 percentage points; another half-dozen races are with 10 percentage points.”

A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll finds that with just nine days to go until Election Day, Republicans’ national lead appears to be crystallizing, with likely voters preferring a GOP-led Congress by a wide margin, 52% to 41%.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll finds Sen. Al Franken (D) is leading challenger Mike McFadden (R) by nine points, 48% to 39%.

Key findings: “McFadden had been down by 13 percentage points, according to the previous Minnesota Poll taken in September. He continues to run far ahead of Franken in outer suburbs and has nearly twice Franken’s support among independents, who favor the challenger 46% to 27%.”

George P. Bush told ABC News that he thinks his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, will “more than likely” run for president in 2016.

Said George P. Bush: “I think it’s actually, I think it’s more than likely that he’s giving this a serious thought in moving forward… If you had asked me a few years back, I would’ve said it was less likely.”

Six new NBC News/Marist polls finds control of the U.S. Senate “is coming down to the wire, with Democrats and Republicans locked in tight races in the key contests that will determine the majority in that chamber of Congress. The momentum in these races, however, has swung mostly in the Republican Party’s direction, giving the GOP a clear path to winning the majority.”

In Colorado, Cory Gardner (R) leads Sen. Mark Udall (D), 46% to 45%

In Iowa, Joni Ernst (R) edges Bruce Braley (D), 49% to 46%.

In Kansas, Greg Orman (I) edges Sen. Pat Roberts (R), 45% to 44%.

In Arkansas, Tom Cotton (R) leads Sen. Mark Pryor (D), 45% to 43%

In North Carolina, Sen. Kay Hagan (D) is tied with Thom Tillis (R), 43% to 43%.

In South Dakota, Mike Rounds (R) is way ahead of Rick Weiland (D), 43% to 29%, with Larry Pressler (I) at 16%.

A new Maine Sunday Telegraph/Portland Press Herald poll in Maine finds Gov. Paul LePage (R) with a double-digit lead over Mike Michaud (D), 45% to 35%, with Eliot Cutler (I) at 16%.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “plans to counter the influx of Democratic spending aimed at defeating him by writing a big personal check,” Politico reports.

“The Republican leader is loaning his campaign $1.8 million out of his own bank account, exceeding a $1.5 million investment by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Senate Majority PAC to bolster the prospects of Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes.”

A new Hellenthal Associates (R) poll in Alaska finds Sen. Mark Begich (D) leading challenger Dan Sullivan (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 39%.

Georgia U.S. Senate candidate David Perdue (R) was caught on video signing a young woman’s torso as staffers tried to block the cameras.

Perdue joked: “No pictures on this.”

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The New York Times reports that over at Betfair, “traders are giving the Republicans an 86% chance of winning the Senate, up from 69% two weeks ago. This market is tied to whether the Republicans will win at least a 51-seat majority, and so to the extent that the Kansas independent Greg Orman might end up voting to give them a majority, it probably understates the odds by a point or two.”

A new Atlanta Journal Constitution poll in Georgia finds David Perdue (R) with a two-point edge over Michelle Nunn (D), 44% to 42%.

Most recent polls — including one from CNN this morning — have given Nunn a small lead.

In the race for governor, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) leads challenger Jason Carter (D), 46% to 41%.

“With an increasingly competitive and closely-watched Senate race on the line, an Atlanta courtroom will be the focus of a key voting rights dispute Friday that could make it harder for Democrats to pick up an open U.S. Senate seat on Election Day,” the Washington Post reports.

“At issue is the fate of approximately 40,000 registration applications submitted with the help of a new voter registration group led by the state’s Democratic House minority leader. She’s joined in her legal battle by the NAACP and other civil rights groups, who are challenging the Republican secretary of state over whether his office has adequately processed ballot applications.”

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Maine finds Gov. Paul LePage (R) and Mike Michaud (D) locked in a tight battle for governor, 40% to 40%, with Eliot Cutler (I) trailing at 17%.