The National Rifle Association will launch a print advertising campaign targeting mostly Democratic senators up for re-election in 2014, Roll Call reports.

“On Thursday, full-page ads are scheduled to run in local newspapers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina and West Virginia. They will be supplemented by digital advertising in these states and 10 others, including Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Hampshire and South Dakota. Additionally, the group has scheduled full-page ads to run Feb. 25 in regional editions of USA Today, reaching parts of 15 states. The campaign is estimated to cost north of $375,000, sources said.”

Newt Gingrich takes apart Karl Rove’s plan to ensure “more electable” Republicans win primaries in 2014.

“While Rove would like to argue his ‘national nomination machine’ will protect Republicans from candidates like those who failed in Missouri and Indiana, that isn’t the bigger story. Republicans lost winnable senate races in Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. So in seven of the nine losing races, the Rove model has no candidate-based explanation for failure. Our problems are deeper and more complex than candidates.”

“Handing millions to Washington based consultants to destroy the candidates they dislike and nominate the candidates they do like is an invitation to cronyism, favoritism and corruption.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) and Ken Cuccinelli (R) tied in a head-to-head matchup for governor, 38% to 38%, with 21% still undecided.

With Bill Bolling as an independent candidate, the race remains a statistical tie, with McAuliffe at 34%, Cuccinelli at 31% and Bolling at 13%.

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) with a record breaking approval rating of 74% and a stunning 37 point lead over likely Democratic opponent, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D), 62% to 25%.

Said pollster Maurice Carroll: “Most governors
would kill for a 56 percent job approval rating. Republican Gov. Christie gets that from
Democrats!”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put out an amusing video on the Democratic search for a candidate to run against him.

[Read more…]

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts shows Rep. Ed Markey (D) well ahead of Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) in the special Democratic Senate primary, 43% to 28%

Joe Miller, “the tea party favorite who was backed by Sarah Palin when he roiled GOP politics in the 2010 midterm elections, is seriously considering another bid at an Alaska Senate seat, a campaign that could prompt a bare-knuckled effort against a candidate pushed by the party establishment,” Politico reports.

“The Miller situation provides an early test for Republicans in Washington, who are trying to avoid the internecine battles of the past two elections that damaged GOP chances of taking back the Senate.”

Said Miller: “I think if the Republican Party is going to win, they really need to kick the likes of Karl Rove out. They are the ones that are pulling the party away from the foundation, which has a winning message.”

In Las Vegas, former RNC Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf delivered “a wide-ranging talk, complete with slides, to assail the GOP as ‘idiotic’ for its stances on immigration and contraception, which caused hemorrhaging among Hispanic and young, female voters” in last year’s presidential election, Jon Ralston reports.

Said Fahrenkopf: “And I thought McCain’s campaign was the worst I’d seen in modern history.”

He also couldn’t resist criticizing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s embrace
of Obama during Hurricane Sandy: “He kissed him. He didn’t have to French-kiss him. I think
he went overboard.”

Former Sen. Carte Goodwin (D-WV) tells West Virginia Metro News that he will not run for U.S. Senate in West Virginia in 2014.

Goodwin said that his decision to stay out of the race was driven by family concerns. He and his wife have two young children.

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-NE) tells the Associated Press that he “has no plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat Mike Johanns (R) will vacate in 2015, and that’s extremely unlikely to change.”