The NRSC issued a statement clarifying its support for Rep. Todd Akin (R) in the Missouri U.S. Senate race “and suggesting it might spend money to help elect him, after saying a month ago that it would not do so,” the Washington Post reports.

“The NRSC said after Akin’s controversial comments about ‘legitimate rape‘ last month that it would not spend money on his behalf this fall. The hope at the time was that the threat would force Akin out of the race and Republicans could replace him with a more electable nominee. It didn’t work, though, and the deadline for Akin to exit the race passed Tuesday.”

Here are the latest U.S. Senate race polls, updated as needed throughout the day:

Connecticut: Murphy (D) 48%, McMahon (R) 42% (PPP)

Florida: Nelson (D) 53%, Mack (R) 39% (Quinnipiac)

Maryland: Cardin (D) 50%, Bongino (R) 22%, Sobhani (I) 21% (Gonzales)

Massachusetts: Warren (D) 46%, Brown (R) 46% (Rasmussen)

Nevada: Berkely (D) 48%, Heller (R) 44% (PPP)

Ohio: Brown (D) 50%, Mandel (R) 40% (Quinnipiac)

Pennsylvania: Casey (D) 49%, Smith (R) 43% (Quinnipiac)

Meanwhile, the Votemaster has created a fascinating chart showing which state is the current “tipping point” for Senate control.

“If we have to issue horse blinders to everyone on our campaign staff, we will.”

— Obama spokesperson Jen Psaki, quoted by Politicker, on the President Obama’s unexpectedly good poll numbers.

Here are the latest polls from the battleground states, updated as needed through the day:

Florida: Obama 53%, Romney 44% (NYT/CBS/Quinnipiac)

Florida: Obama 49%, Romney 46% (InsiderAdvantage)

Iowa: Obama 51%, Romney 44% (Public Policy Polling)

Ohio: Obama 53%, Romney 43% (NYT/CBS/Quinnipiac)

Pennsylvania: Obama 54%, Romney 42% (NYT/CBS/Quinnipiac)

Pennsylvania: Obama 52%, Romney 43% (Franklin & Marshall)

“A kick in the balls.”

— A longtime Ohio Republican strategist, quoted by the CNN, characterizing President Obama’s advantage on the auto bailout for the Romney campaign.

The Gallup tracking poll now shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points, 50% to 44%.

An instructive video clip shows Joe Biden previewing his vice presidential debate with Sarah Palin in 2008.

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President Obama is dramatically outspending Mitt Romney on television ads in both Ohio and Florida, the Huffington Post reports.

“A review of political ad contracts with broadcast television stations in the top five media markets in Florida — Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach — and the top three markets in Ohio — Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus — show Obama’s campaign running 10,000 more ads than Romney’s campaign from the beginning of August through the middle of September.”

With Mitt Romney running significantly behind President Obama in recent Ohio polls, Nate Silver looks at the most-likely scenarios for Romney to win the election without the Buckeye state.

“So one sign that Mr. Romney’s team is preparing a ‘Plan B’ to win the election without Ohio would be if they begin to place more emphasis on Iowa and Nevada. They would then have to hope that a shift in the national environment would carry states like Virginia and Florida back into their column.”

“It isn’t a great plan. But when you’re the Republican candidate and are down outside the margin of error in Ohio with six weeks to go, you don’t have any great plans.”

The Week: “Some Republicans are having doubts as Romney’s campaign hits a rough patch, with a few wondering whether another candidate might have had a better shot.”

With Rep. Todd Akin (R) officially staying in Missouri’s U.S. Senate race, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) launched a new ad just hammering him.

First Read: “It’s an interesting tactic by the McCaskill campaign to NOT use Akin’s voice in its first big hit. Perhaps they don’t want to OVER-play it early (and save that if for some reason they are struggling to put him away in October). We only ask because the first hit, using an announcer to read Akin’s quotes rather than HEARING Akin, struck us as less effective.”

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President Obama told the Des Moines Register that if he’s fortunate enough to win a second term, his re-election will send a message to Republicans that Americans want them to follow his agenda.

Said Obama: “What I think most Iowans certainly believe is that if the majority of the American people have said, ‘This is the direction we need to go,’ and the Republicans in Congress say, ‘No, we’re going to go in the exact opposite direction,’ that’s probably not going to leave them to keep that majority too long.”

President Obama “has blocked out three days to prepare for the October debates, but with the constant pressures that come with one of the world’s most important jobs, aides worry he may not get enough practice at the podium,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

His “debate retreat” is scheduled to start Sunday and “includes time for the daily battery of presidential meetings, leaving room for three afternoon debate sessions — if no crises flare up. Obama has already canceled some debate preparation because of events in the Middle East.”

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney “has worked on his strategy for weeks, prepping at his home in New Hampshire and at his Boston headquarters, but also squeezing in time as he travels.”