OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Campaign trail Justice

As much as Attorney General Eric Holder has provided political fodder for Republicans during his tenure at the Department of Justice, his departure is likely to prove another flashpoint at the height of campaign season. 

Holder’s unexpected resignation on Thursday already has Republicans warning President Obama not to push through a new Cabinet nominee during the lame-duck session. But with Senate control on the line, and if power does flip to Republicans after the midterms, the administration may have little choice. 

{mosads}Holder and his controversial time at the Department of Justice was already going to be a rallying cry for conservatives this fall, but with his departure, the GOP gets a new one that wouldn’t be surprising to hear on the campaign trail: Elect us, and we’ll make sure another Eric Holder isn’t the country’s top justice official.

That’s exactly another headache Democrats don’t want with 40 days until Election Day. 

SENATE SHOWDOWN

DNC: The Democratic National Committee is telling Hispanic voters they “can’t stay at home” during the midterm elections in a new Spanish-language radio ad seeking to boost turnout.

LA-SEN (LANDRIEU): Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will stump for Tea Party-backed Louisiana Senate candidate Rob Maness this weekend, and the two will dine on alligator.

KS-SEN (ROBERTS): Sen. Pat Roberts (R) got some unlikely help from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), who stumped with the veteran senator seeking to boost his Tea Party cred, warning voters not to be “snookered” by independent candidate Greg Orman. Roberts will also get a hand from the National Rifle Association, which will buy $100,000 in TV time in Wichita and Topeka along with mail and digital advertising, per The Wall Street Journal.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) is asking a Kansas district court to decide the question of whether the state Democratic Party must choose a nominee for the ballot by next week.

And another residency issue for Roberts — the Topeka Capital Journal reports he listed his Virginia home as his “principal residence” on mortgage documents.

AK-SEN (BEGICH): A relatively routine endorsement announcement from the Chamber of Commerce for Republican Dan Sullivan was interrupted by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake.

NC-SEN (HAGAN): Republican Thom Tillis said while he supports airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, he’s not convinced arming Syrian rebels is the right choice, in contrast to Sen. Kay Hagan (D), who’s said she supports both.

AZ-SEN (MCCAIN): Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has begun to contemplate his next reelection fight, aware of the likelihood he’ll be a serious Tea Party target in 2016.

 

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE

LA-5 (MCALLISTER): Zach Dasher, the nephew of “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson who is trying to unseat Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.), once said that the Sandy Hook shooting was caused by the “atheist agenda that has permeated every corner of our society.”

MA-6 (OPEN): Democratic nominee and Iraq War veteran Seth Moulton released an ad saying he was opposed to sending troops to Iraq again. “Four tours in Iraq — a war he opposed but didn’t want another to go in his place,” the ad says. “And he doesn’t want to send troops back there now.”

TX-23 (GALLEGO): A GOP challenger in the only competitive House district in Texas will get a boost Friday when former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) heads to the Lone Star State to stump for GOP nominee Will Hurd.

 

AD WATCH

AR-SEN (PRYOR): Freedom Partners Action Fund hits Sen. Mark Pryor (D) on the Veterans Affairs scandal.

WV-SEN (OPEN): Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R) hits Democrat Natalie Tennant on her record as West Virginia secretary of State.

GA-SEN (OPEN): Georgians Together, the super-PAC backing Democrat Michelle Nunn, is up with its first ad, hitting GOP nominee David Perdue’s business background on equal pay and women’s health issues. Susan B. Anthony List also endorsed Perdue Thursday.

IA-SEN (OPEN): Iowa Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst released a trio of ads on Thursday emphasizing her military service in Iraq. The radio and TV ads feature testimonials from Iraq War veterans who have served alongside Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa National Guard.

CA-52 (PETERS):  Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) is out with a new ad touting his work for veterans.

FL-2 (SOUTHERLAND): Democrat Gwen Graham says she can “handle” Rep. Steve Southerland’s (R) “campaign of lies and put-downs” and slams him for the recent government shutdown.

FL-26 (GARCIA): The National Republican Congressional Committee has upped its buy in the Miami district against freshman Rep. Joe Garcia (D) to $2.6 million, $1.4 million more than the GOP House committee had originally reserved.

ME-2 (OPEN): House Majority PAC will begin airing ads Friday in the Maine open seat, indicating Democrats could be worried about holding onto the open seat. We named the three-way contest as one of our “5 House Sleepers to Watch” earlier this week.

MI-1 (BENISHEK): House Majority PAC has cut its ad reservation for Democrat Jerry Cannon in his race against Rep. Dan Benishek (R).

KS-3 (YODER): Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder’s (R-Kan.) challenger is accusing the GOP lawmaker of “skinny-dipping on the job,” reminding voters of his nude swim in a new ad.

 

POLL POSITION

AK-SEN (BEGICH): In a Dittman Research poll conducted for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce obtained exclusively by The Hill, Republican Dan Sullivan leads Sen. Mark Begich (D) by a 6-point margin, 49 percent to 43 percent, his largest lead in any survey. While it is a partisan poll, the state is notoriously hard to survey, and the Alaska-based firm has a strong record in the state in past contests.

VA-SEN (WARNER): A Quinnipiac University poll gives Sen. Mark Warner (D) 48 percent support to Republican Ed Gillespie’s 39 percent support among likely voters.

CO-SEN (UDALL): A Public Policy Polling (D) survey for ProgressNow Colorado and Americans for Tax Fairness gives Rep. Cory Gardner (R) a 47 percent to 45 percent lead over Sen. Mark Udall (D) among likely voters. Eight percent remain undecided. President Obama is deeply underwater in the state, with 58 percent disapproving of his job performance and only 35 percent approving.

 

2016 RUMBLINGS

IOWA: Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad shied away Thursday from calling for an outright end to the Ames Straw Poll, but floated the possibility of making changes to the decades-old GOP tradition.

RUBIO: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is planning two more visits to New Hampshire next month to stump for Republican candidates in the state’s Senate race and one of its House races.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The crazy and depressing truth is that there are people running for office right now who could actually affect your life. PARTICULARLY your sex life.”

—Actress Lena Dunham, in an email to Planned Parenthood supporters warning them against voting for GOP Senate candidates Rep. Cory Gardner (Colo.), North Carolina Speaker Thom Tillis, Alaska’s Dan Sullivan and Iowa’s Joni Ernst