The changes would represent a major shift for the Romney campaign, which so far has offered only extremely limited access to the presumptive Republican nominee, and usually only to favored outlets like Fox News.
{mosads}A senior Romney aide said the campaign would work to find a balance between respecting the role of the press and telling the story it wants the public to hear about Romney.
“The press’s job is to cover every single angle and inch of this campaign, and I think that any campaign operation has to respect that and recognize that with every engagement what we have to do is tell the governor’s story,” the aide said. “Does that happen in every instance? Does that happen every single day? No.
VOTERS ARE VOTING: Texas holds its GOP Senate runoff today. Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz is expected to beat Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. The winner is favored to be the state’s next senator. Most polls close at 8 p.m. ET, but a few close at 9 p.m. because Texas is in two time zones.
Georgia holds its congressional primaries and there are two contested races: three Republicans are running for the nomination in the new 9th district and four Republicans are competing for the nomination to take on Democratic Rep. John Barrow in the fall. Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: President Obama will be campaigning in Mansfield and Akron, Ohio.
Michelle Obama will be campaigning in Greensboro, N.C., and will hold a fundraiser in Raleigh, N.C.
Vice President Biden will host a reception for the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues at the Naval Observatory.
TWEET OF THE DAY: “Who will be @MittRomney VP? Download the app and you’ll be the first to find out: mi.tt/PhhK0G #MittVP #MITT2012 #sayfie #tcot” — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Kiss my a–,” Romney traveling press secretary Rick Gorka, to the media trying to question Mitt Romney during his visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.
POLL POSITION:
The latest survey from Public Policy Polling has President Obama’s lead over Mitt Romney shrinking from 4 percent to 1 percent since the last PPP poll in June; the two candidates now stand at 48 percent and 47 percent.
AD WATCH:
Mitt Romney‘s campaign released a new ad with a more positive tone. The ad features the candidate speaking directly to the camera, arguing for his qualifications rather than attacking his opponent.
The Republican outside group Crossroads GPS is up with a huge new ad buy that quotes CBS’s Scott Pelley as talking about the “worst economic recovery America has ever had” to rip President Obama. The group is spending $11 million on the ad, a major buy that will run for 11 days in Florida, Iowa, Colorado, North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.
Obama’s reelection campaign released a Web video pressing Romney to release additional years of his tax returns.
Obama’s reelection campaign released a television ad attacking Romney’s tax plan as one that is just helps the wealthiest Americans. It will air in Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Florida.
BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:
California: San Diego Democrat Scott Peters released an internal poll showing him tied with Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) at 40 percent apiece in a newly drawn, slightly Democratic-leaning district.
California: The Democratic Congressional Campaign committee released a poll showing Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) leading Kim Vann (R) by 15 percentage points.
Maryland: A new Democratic poll has John Delaney (D) leading Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) by 44 to 42 percent, the latest sign the 10-term congressman is in an uphill battle to keep his seat.
Minnesota: Rep. Michele Bachmann‘s (R-Minn.) campaign raised $1 million in July, the same month she made unsubstantiated charges against a Hillary Clinton aide.
New York: Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) holds a sizable 17-point lead over attorney Julian Schreibman (D), 53 percent to 36, according to an internal poll released by his campaign. Schreibman responded with an internal poll of his own showing the race at a closer 42 to 32 percent.
North Carolina: The Democratic Congressional Campaign committee released a poll showing Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) leading North Carolina state Sen. David Rouzer (R) by 15 points. Rouzer had released a poll on Monday showing a four-point race in the GOP-leaning district.
Utah: Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) leads Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love (R) by 18 percentage points, according to a Democratic poll, 51 percent to 33, a sign that despite the dramatic alteration the district underwent in redistricting and Love’s highly touted candidacy, he might not be in that much trouble this fall.
SENATE SHOWDOWN:
Arizona: The National Rifle Association endorsed Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a boost for his primary campaign in the firearm-loving state. Flake is facing big-spending businessman Wil Cardon (R) in a primary, and while he’s still the favorite, he’s has had to work harder than expected to win the nomination.
Connecticut: The Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling released polls showing former WWE CEO Linda McMahon (R) and Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) with big leads in their respective primaries. Murphy led McMahon by 50 percent to 42 in the general election.
Nevada: Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) both released new radio ads. Heller’s TV ad accuses Berkley of a series of dishonest attacks, while Berkley’s is a radio ad with a country song attacking Heller for being the only member of Congress to vote twice for Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) plan to partially privatize Medicare.
New Mexico: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee began airing an ad that accuses former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) of voting for “tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.” Wilson has narrowly trailed Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) in most polls.
Texas: Gov. Rick Perry, campaigning for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in the GOP runoff, called out Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) this week, alleging he wants to influence the race for personal gain. “I don’t think anybody knows David Dewhurst any better than I do. And when we talk about what’s going to be best for Texas, is a senator from South Carolina going to be better for Texas than [Sen.] John Cornyn?” Perry said.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Mitt Romney‘s campaign announced supporters can sign up to be the first to learn of the presumptive Republican nominee’s vice presidential choice by downloading a new smartphone app.
President Obama announced he donated to his own campaign, a $5,000 contribution made online.
Chief Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod met with Senate Democrats at their Tuesday lunch. Senate Democrats were tight-lipped about what was discussed at the meeting, but did express some confidence after Axelrod’s appearance. “Whatever is good or bad can’t be measured at this time, in my view,” Sen. Frank Lautenberg (N.J.) told The Hill. “But we feel good.”
The Obama campaign continued to hammer Romney about his overseas trip, saying he not only failed to look presidential but harmed U.S. interests abroad with his trip to Europe and Israel.
Romney accused the media of looking to protect Obama by focusing on the GOP candidate’s high-profile gaffes during his week-long foreign tour rather than more substantive policy issues he discussed.
Obama’s campaign is bashing Romney for the presumptive GOP nominee’s view that tax incentives for wind power projects should lapse at the end of the year.
Obama’s campaign launched a new smartphone app to encourage grassroots support and connect the campaign with volunteers and voters.
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro has been selected for the highly coveted role of keynote speaker at September’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
An investor with Bain Capital told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that Romney didn’t pay taxes for 10 years, Reid said.
This post was updated at 8:55 p.m.
Please send tips and comments to Emily Goodin, egoodin@digital-staging.thehill.com; Cameron Joseph, cjoseph@digital-staging.thehill.com; and Justin Sink, jsink@digital-staging.thehill.com
Follow us on Twitter: @hillballotbox, @emilylgoodin, @cam_joseph, @JTSTheHill
You can sign up to receive this overnight update via email on The Hill’s homepage.