An attempt to get Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) “kicked off the August ballot is focusing on whether backdated voter registrations of two of his petition collectors invalidates their more than 300 collected signatures,” the Detroit News reports.

“The official review of Conyers’ petition signatures by the Wayne County Clerk’s Office found 1,193 of the 2,000 signatures he submitted are from valid registered voters in the district. By law, the Detroit Democrat needs 1,000 signatures to make the Aug. 5 primary ballot — meaning a loss of 194 or more signatures would disqualify him.”

Democrats seeking to oust New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) in November apparently won’t get help from one of the biggest Democratic contributors in the last gubernatorial race, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

“Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D), who chairs the Democratic Governors Association, said what some national pundits have been saying for a long time: He doesn’t expect a Democrat to win the gubernatorial race in New Mexico. He also mentioned Nevada and Texas as probable losses for Democratic gubernatorial candidates.”

Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R) told the Florida Times-Union she felt cheated by Gov. Rick Scott (R) and his top staff “for abandoning her 13 months ago when she was abruptly asked to resign the state’s second highest office.”

Carroll said she was excited about her upcoming tell-all biography to be released later this summer.

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas finds the U.S. Senate race continues to be extremely close, with Sen. Mark Pryor (D) edging Rep. Tom Cotton (R), 43% to 42%.

“The early flurry of negative ads in the contest has left both candidates unpopular, with Pryor sporting a 38% to 46% approval rating and Cotton at a 37% to 42% favorability.”

Texas Tribune: “With only close friends and family looking on, the born-again Christian governor was baptized outdoors, in the spring waters once used to wash the sins off Sam Houston, the first elected president of the Republic of Texas and one of the most colorful political figures in American history.”

A Wesleyan Media Project analysis finds that outside groups were responsible for 59% of the television ads in Senate campaigns this year.

Key finding: 67% of ads favoring Republican Senate candidates were aired by outside groups, compared to 49% of the ads favoring Democratic Senate candidates.

The Week: Does the flood of outside money make candidates irrelevant?

Dick Morris: “Of the defeated candidates left over from 2012, Santorum is probably too focused on social issues to win. Cain and Bachmann can be dismissed as flashes in the pan and the problems that knocked them out of contention have not gone away. Romney probably won’t get a third chance. Even Nixon only got two. Newt inflicted too many wounds on others and on himself.”

“That leaves Rick Perry. Acceptable to Latinos based on his Texas record. Draws strong Tea Party support without being defined by it. A southerner, he is clearly ready to play on the national stage. A big state governor whose record on jobs has only gotten better. He can’t be dismissed.”

A new SurveyUSA poll in Ohio finds Gov. John Kasich (R) with a double-digit lead over challenger Ed Fitzgerald (D) in the race for governor, 46% to 36%.