A new NBC/Wall Street Journal/Annenberg poll finds that near-majorities believe that Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, both possible 2016 presidential candidates, would each “represent too much of a return to the policies of the past” as president.

A final Chism Strategies poll in Mississippi finds Chris McDaniel (R) leading Sen. Thad Cochran (R) in the GOP Senate runoff, 52% to 44%.

The New York Times reports that conservative groups are deploying “election observers” to monitor Mississippi’s GOP Senate runoff to “observe whether the law is being followed.”

Rick Hasen: “The idea here appears to be that because poll workers cannot discourage Democrats from voting in the election (based upon an unenforceable Mississippi law which says that only those who intend to support the nominee of the party in the primary can vote in the primary), these outside election observers… may make such encouragement.”

Jeffrey Toobin says Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) “ascendancy reflects the dilemma of the modern Republican Party, because his popularity within the Party is based largely on an act that was reviled in the broader national community. Last fall, Cruz’s strident opposition to Obamacare led in a significant way to the shutdown of the federal government.”

“As he travels the country, he has hardened his positions, delighting the base of his party but moving farther from the positions of most Americans on most issues. He denies the existence of man-made climate change, opposes comprehensive immigration reform, rejects marriage equality, and, of course, demands the repeal of ‘every blessed word of Obamacare.’ … His message, in substance, is that on the issues a Cruz Presidency would be roughly identical to a Sarah Palin Presidency.”

A new University of New Hampshire poll in Maine finds Mike Michaud (D) leading Gov. Paul LePage (R) in the race for governor, 40% to 36%, with Eliot Cutler (I) at 15%.

Ken Vogel reports on internal documents from the liberal Democracy Alliance.

“The 21 groups at the core of the Democracy Alliance’s portfolio intend to spend $374 million during the midterm election cycle — including nearly $200 million this year — to boost liberal candidates and causes in 2014 and beyond… While growing sums of that cash are being spent vilifying the billionaire conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch over their own network’s political spending, the documents reveal the extent to which the Democracy Alliance network mirrors the Kochs’ – and is obsessed with it.”

“We pay ordinary income tax, unlike a lot of people who are truly well
off, not to name names; and we’ve done it through dint of hard work.”

— Hillary Clinton, in an interview with The Guardian, distancing herself from other one percenters.

“The November election is 135 days away, but we now have a very clear idea of what the Senate playing field will look like,” the Washington Post reports.

“Primaries have largely sorted themselves out in the most competitive Senate races in the country, with Republicans — so far — avoiding the perils of 2010 and 2012, in which the party nominated several candidates who had major electability problems in the general election.”

“What we are left with is 12 races that can be considered truly competitive — meaning that either one (or both) of the national parties and/or the various outside groups have spent or will spend money on them. The races are tipped heavily toward Democratic-held seats; 10 of the 12 in contention — including the six most vulnerable — are in Democratic hands. Of the 12 states, Republican Mitt Romney carried nine in 2012.”

For more, check the Cook Political Report‘s Senate race ratings.

The Washington Post says Hillary Clinton’s book tour has revealed “a potentially serious political problem for Clinton as she considers a 2016 presidential run: She and her husband are established members of the 1 percent, leading lives far removed from the millions of middle-class voters who swing elections.”

“Some influential Democrats — including former advisers to President Obama — said in interviews last week they fear that Clinton’s personal wealth and rarefied, cloistered lifestyle could jeopardize the Democratic Party’s historic edge with the middle class that powered Obama’s wins.”

A NSON Opinion Strategy survey in Mississippi — paid for by the Tea Party Express —
finds Sen. Thad Cochran (R) locked in a dead heat with runoff challenger Chris McDaniel (R), 44% to 44% with 12% still undecided.