Despite a pledge to steer clear of endorsing incumbents, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has financially backed a handful of Senate Republicans through his PAC, including Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), whose campaign Cruz said that he would not endorse, the Washington Post reports.

Cruz’s leadership PAC, Jobs Growth and Freedom Fund, “made only five donations in the first six months of its existence, and all of those dollars went to incumbents.”

Former Tennessee U.S. Senate candidate Thomas Kenneth Owens (D) has been arrested in connection with an attempted murder-for-hire plot, WJHL reports.

“Owens was arrested after he met up with the hit man at a sports bar and paid him $500 as down payment to kill his uncle, Ernest ‘Ernie’ Widby. According to the TBI, Owens brought a picture of the intended victim and the victim’s home address. That’s when law enforcement got involved and arrested Owens after the payment was made.”

First Read: “While Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are on the same page when it comes to most issues, there is one BIG different between the two GOP senators: Paul is supporting his fellow senator up for re-election next year (Mitch McConnell), while Cruz isn’t supporting his (John Cornyn).”

“The difference appears to be in the different goals both men may have right now. Rand Paul seems to be intent on trying to take over the GOP and win the internal argument; Ted Cruz seems to be about creating the brand of Ted Cruz and establishing ANTI-party credentials.”

President Obama “has no plans to campaign on behalf of the underdog Democrat in an uphill battle against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and is weighing how much help to give his party’s scandal-enmeshed candidate for governor of Virginia, where Democrats are more bullish about winning,” the AP reports.

“It’s the type of delicate, race-by-race calculation the White House repeatedly will have to make in the 2014, when Obama’s own legacy will be on the line. Next fall, voters will decide whether to elect a Congress that will help Obama achieve his goals for his final two years in office, or whether to elect one that will block him at every turn.”

A new Quinnipiac poll in Colorado finds Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) leading state Greg Brophy (R), 47% to 40%, toppping Scott Gessler (R), 47% to 42%, and just ahead of Tom Tancredo (R), 46 to 45%.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) declined to back fellow Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn’s bid for reelection in 2014, saying that he will probably steer clear of all races in which incumbents face primary challengers, the Washington Post reports.

Cruz called Cornyn a “good man” and a “friend,” but said, “I think it is likely that I am going to stay out of incumbent primaries across the country, either supporting incumbents or opposing incumbents.”

The Fix: “The freshman Senator has made clear during his brief time in the Senate that he has little interest in going along to get along or any desire to climb the leadership ladder. In case you missed that point, Cruz’s trip to Iowa last weekend and to New Hampshire this past Friday — when he made the Cornyn comments — are an obvious tell: Cruz wants to run for president in 2016.”

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) announces her candidacy for a second term today, “flanked by three other high-profile GOP governors,” the Greenville News reports.

“Haley, who rose from obscurity in a 2010 primary crowded with well-known political figures to become the state’s first woman governor, will be joined by Rick Perry of Texas, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Scott Walker of Wisconsin – all considered possible presidential candidates in 2016.”

First Read: “Haley is probably the most vulnerable GOP governor up for re-election in 2014 who’s not from a swing state or blue state. And it’s because of that vulnerability that has us scratching our heads as to why she’s surrounding herself with national GOP leaders at her re-election announcement. Is she running for re-election? Or launching a campaign to become national surrogate or a cabinet secretary for the next Republican presidency? Seems like an odd decision to send the message locally that she’s focused NATIONALLY.”

“He’s a slick spokesman and god help us if he gets to be anything more than the senator from Texas.”

— Howard Dean, quoted by CNN, on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

The New York Times looks at New York mayoral hopeful Bill de Blasio’s first big job in politics — as campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s first U.S. Senate bid in 2000.

“An examination of Mr. de Blasio’s management of Mrs. Clinton’s first run for office, however, reveals that his inclinations — inclusive and easygoing but frequently indecisive — could be agonizingly inefficient in a high-pressure, ever-shifting situation. He was so deliberative, in fact, that he was eventually elbowed out during the final stretch of the campaign.”

“The campaign for an open Senate seat was a turning point in Mr. de Blasio’s life; it was the biggest and most high-profile political effort he had ever been put in charge of. And it turned out to be his last, as an operative. After Mrs. Clinton’s victory, he stepped out of the role of strategist, and decided, at age 39, to seek public office himself, winning races for councilman and public advocate, and now running for mayor.”