“If they want to win an election, they need to be in their districts… A trip to Charlotte may be interesting, but why leave your districts?”

— DCCC chairman Steve Israel (D-NY), quoted by Reuters, telling lawmakers they should skip the Democratic national convention.

President Obama plans a two-day road trip through Pennsylvania and Ohio beginning July 5, the AP reports.

“It will be the president’s first bus tour of the 2012 campaign… The president will still headline campaign fundraisers through the fall, but the official said Obama’s schedule would start to include more of a mix of campaign rallies and other events focused on speaking directly to a wide swath of voters in the states Obama needs most in order to hold the White House.”

A Old Dominion University/Virginian-Pilot poll in Virginia finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney in the crucial battleground state, 49% to 42%.

A poll yesterday found Romney with a five point lead.

A new Quinnipiac poll finds President Obama with leads in the important battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Florida: Obama 45%, Romney 41%

Ohio: Obama 47%, Romney 38%

Pennsylvania: Obama 45%, Romney 39%.

Said pollster Peter Brown: “If he can keep those leads in all three of these key swing states through election day he would be virtually assured of re-election.”

Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK) “became the first Oklahoma congressman ousted in 18 years Tuesday, as political newcomer Jim Bridenstine staged a Republican primary upset in the Tulsa-area district Sullivan has represented for a decade,” the Oklahoman reports.

He is the fourth incumbent to lose a primary challenge this year.

Politico calls Sullivan “an incumbent caught sleeping.”

“The tea party, big-spending PACs and challenger Dan Liljenquist failed Tuesday to force 78-year-old Orrin Hatch into retirement,” the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

“The self-proclaimed ‘tough old bird’ flew easily through the GOP primary, so now only Democrat Scott Howell stands between him and a record-shattering seventh term.”

Surviving one of the toughest re-election fights of his career, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) “fended off four challengers on Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for a 22nd term in Congress,” the New York Times reports.

“Rangel’s victory capped a gripping campaign for a Congressional seat that for decades has been at the center of black political power — and preserved a career in Washington that had been threatened by ethics troubles and changing demographics.”

Rick Santorum “will return to Iowa next month to hold a pair of ‘thank you’ events in the state that vaulted his long-shot presidential campaign into national competition,” Politico reports.

A new Gallup poll finds 81% of respondents think President Obama “is likable” while just 64% said the same of Mitt Romney.

Meanwhile, both candidates get their lowest scores for having a clear plan for solving the country’s problems — 40% say Obama does and 38% say Romney does.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds President Obama has managed to retain a narrow lead over Mitt Romney in his race for re-election despite a spate of bad economic news and surging GOP optimism, 47% to 44%.

“The poll highlights challenges facing both candidates. While Mr. Obama retains a durable base of support, his standing among white, working-class voters, which was low to start with, continues to erode. Interest in the campaign isn’t nearly as intense as it was four years ago among young people and Latinos, who were important to Mr. Obama’s victory in 2008.”

“At the same time, more people viewed Mr. Romney unfavorably than favorably by a 6-point margin, with nearly one-quarter of those polled viewing him ‘very negatively,’ twice the level found in December. Mr. Romney’s business background, which he has made a central element of his candidacy, is a draw for many, the poll found. But it is viewed negatively by even more people.”

White House press secretary Jay Carney denied that President Obama was booed last night at a Boston fundraiser when he tweaked the crowd about the Red Sox trading Kevin Youkilis.

Said Carney: “And anyone who knows Boston, knows the Red Sox and anyone who was in that room last night knows that the preponderance of people shouting in response to what the President said about Kevin Youkilis were saying ‘Yoooook and not Booo’ for God’s sake.”

But a video of the moment seems pretty unambiguous.

[Read more…]

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Massachusetts finds the U.S. Senate race a dead heat with Elizabeth Warren (D) and Sen. Scott Brown (R) both at 46%.

Key findings: “Brown’s numbers have experienced a bit of a resurgence in the last few months. His approval rating is back over 50%, with 51% of voters approving of him to 38% who disapprove… Brown is conveying the sort of centrist, independent image he’ll need in order to win this fall. Only 34% of voters think he’s too conservative to 48% who say he’s ideologically ‘about right.'”

A new Rasmussen survey in North Carolina finds Mitt Romney continues to hold a small lead over President Obama in the key swing state, 47% to 44%.

“I will be the first president in modern history to be outspent in his re-election campaign.”

— President Obama, quoted by USA Today, in his latest fundraising appeal.