Politico: “Thad Cochran is taking his sweet time. The Senate’s 2014 battle lines are already largely set with the increasingly glaring exception of Mississippi. But Cochran won’t say whether he will run for a seventh term and has indicated it will be months before he decides, stalling potential successors from laying groundwork in the race ahead of an impending spring primary.”

Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) told Q13 Fox News that he’s “thinking about” running for statewide office, such as governor or U.S. senator.

Said Reichert: “I’m thinking about all those options. I still feel like I’m young and energetic. And, you know, we’ll see how Gov. Jay Inslee does, and if he continues on the path that he is, it doesn’t look too good for him. So I’ll keep an eye on that, and who knows what Patty Murray does in the next year or two?”

A new New York Times/Siena poll in New York City finds that Eliot Spitzer leads Scott Stringer in the race for city comptroller, 44% to 35%.

A new New York Times/Siena poll in New York City finds Christine Quinn leads the Democratic race for mayor with 25%, followed by William Thompson at 16%, Bill de Blasio at 14% and Anthony Weiner at 10%.

The remaining candidates in the poll each drew less than 5% and 26% of the Democratic voters surveyed were undecided.

“Just beneath the surface, and without evidence of direct involvement by the Clintons themselves, a Clinton machine is whirring to life,” ABC News reports. “A series of self-started, independent ventures are adding up to a sweeping effort to unite all levels of the Democratic establishment behind a candidacy that backers hope and trust they’ll have a chance to support.”

“Several people close to the Clinton camp insist there is no puppet-master coordinating political efforts for the former secretary of state. That means that while some of what’s being done is for Clinton’s benefit, it’s less clear that it’s being done on her behalf.”

“But a series of prominent Democrats aligned with the Clintons — Harold Ickes, James Carville, Ann Lewis, Cheryl Mills, and Craig Smith among them — are acting as facilitators, channeling friends and allies toward entities that are working for a possible candidacy, according to numerous Democrats in and around the Clinton orbit.”

Ruby Cramer notes that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) “decision to focus on his state by staying put is a key part of his governing strategy and political argument — but it could also cramp his national ambitions.”

“Leaving the capital, let alone the state, for a weekend in some other governor’s city wouldn’t be Cuomo’s style. Since taking office in Albany in 2011, Cuomo has not spent a single night outside the state, his office confirmed.”

Nate Silver said he doesn’t expect to write much about elections over the next few years because they won’t be very compelling, Deadspin reports.

Said Silver: “You look at where the news cycle is going and I’m kind of aware that 2016, I think, will be fascinating, but I’ll be frank. I think 2014 midterm will be dull as compared to other most recent elections. There’s not much at stake where we know that GOP’s gonna control one branch of Congress–almost for sure–and we know Obama’s in the White House through 2016, so you don’t have really control of all of DC at stake and that makes it less compelling.”

Harry Enten: “When Pryor first won his Senate seat in 2002, Arkansas was only 3pt more Republican than the nation in the nearest two presidential elections. Over the past two cycles, Arkansas averaged 14pt to the right of the country at large. That puts it on the same level as Alabama and more Republican than any other southern state, including Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. This [means] that instead of Arkansas being the most Republican southern state as it is today on the presidential level, it was the most Democratic southern state. Other data sends the same signal. At the time of his 2008 reelection bid, Democrats controlled 75% of the Arkansas House of Representatives and 77% of the state Senate; now it’s only 48% and 40%, respectively. Three of the four Arkansas members of the House of Representatives were Democrats in 2008, while it is 0 today.”

A telephone recording obtained by Economic Policy Journal has Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) campaign manager, Jesse Benton, explaining what he thinks of his current job: “Between you and me, I’m sorta holdin’ my nose for two years.”

McConnell’s primary challenger jumped on the news with this tweet:

Even Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager thinks Sen. McConnell isn’t conservative and is holding his nose for 2 years #kysen…

— Matt Bevin (@MattBevin) August 8, 2013

Benton confirmed the authenticity of the recording telling the Weekly Standard, “It is truly sick that someone would record a private phone conversation I had out of kindness and use it to try to hurt me.”

Roll Call has obtained an internal email from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that highlights plans to target 17 House Republicans with a grass-roots push over the August recess.

“He is our Dukakis.”

— GOP strategist Ed Rollins, quoted by the Washington Post, on Mitt Romney.

Byron York: “In 2012, he won 11 primaries and caucuses, making him the solid second-place finisher in a party that has a long history of nominating the candidate who finished second the last time around. (See Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.) And yet now, no one — no one — is suggesting Santorum will be the frontrunner in 2016, should he choose to run. As far as the political handicapping goes, Santorum’s 2012 victories don’t seem to count for much.”