OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: All Jayhawked up

Democrat Chad Taylor might be stuck on the Kansas Senate ballot, but Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) isn’t out of the woods yet.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) on Thursday denied Taylor’s request to remove himself from the ballot, saying Kansas election law requires that a candidate declare he or she would be incapable of performing the necessary duties if elected, which Taylor didn’t do.

{mosads}The move was decried by Democrats as a partisan attempt to boost Roberts’s reelection prospects, and indeed it does make his path a little clearer, as it complicates any attempts to coalesce the anti-Roberts vote behind one candidate.

Democrats hoped that candidate would be independent Greg Orman, a local businessman who’s proved a stronger fundraiser and savvier politician than Taylor. He’s also one that doesn’t have the baggage of a discrimination suit and controversy over a failure to prosecute domestic violence cases hanging over his head, like Taylor does.

But there’s a long history of candidates in name only, those who dropped out too late and were stuck on the ballot, who’ve had little to no effect on the ultimate outcome of the race.

So even if Democrats aren’t successful in their plans to challenge Kobach’s decision, Republicans can’t bank on Taylor delivering them a win.

And they’re not: the National Republican Senatorial Committee is sending veteran GOP strategist Chris LaCivita down to Kansas this weekend to advise Roberts’s campaign and help right the ship, with more staff expected in the coming weeks. Roberts has signed on new staff to revamp his ground game and grassroots outreach.

Still, there remains a very real chance that Roberts will be returning home this fall — whether he decides, when he’s left the Senate, to make that Kansas or Virginia — for the last time.

 

SENATE SHOWDOWN

KY-SEN (MCCONNELL): Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) top campaign adviser, Josh Holmes, denied any knowledge of subpoenas reportedly issued by a federal grand jury seeking emails from McConnell’s former campaign manager, Jesse Benton, related to the bribery scandal that’s shrouded Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign, which Benton also managed.

LA-SEN (LANDRIEU): A Louisiana court will hear a challenge to Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-La.) residency status on Friday. Meanwhile, Tea Party-backed candidate Rob Maness came out in favor of prescription-free, over-the-counter birth control.

NH-SEN (SHAHEEN): Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) distanced herself from President Obama on his handling of ISIS, tweeting she didn’t believe the terrorist group “is manageable.”

NC-SEN (HAGAN): North Carolina Speaker Thom Tillis (R) said he thinks “over-the-counter oral contraception should be available without a prescription” in a Wednesday night debate, looking to flip Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-N.C.) “war on women” attacks against him.

 

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE

CA-52 (PETERS): Former San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio (R) announced he supports allowing over-the-counter birth control.

 

AD WATCH

NH-SEN (SHAHEEN): The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched its first ad in New Hampshire, hitting former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) for ties to his old state and his positions on Medicare and Social Security.

IA-SEN (OPEN): Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) hits Iowa state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) for her opposition to abortion and support for a personhood amendment in a new ad.

The Koch-backed Freedom Partners hits Braley for missing Veterans Affairs Committee hearings in its latest Iowa ad.

AR-SEN: Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) launched a trio of ads on Social Security, including one accusing Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) of pushing to give illegal immigrants access to the program, while Pryor launched an ad defending his vote for ObamaCare (without mentioning the name of the law) and saying he voted to “cut waste and protected benefits.”

AK-SEN (BEGICH): Republican Dan Sullivan’s new ad features a female teacher praising him for fighting to help get pension funds back for teachers from a bank while he was attorney general.

OR-SEN (MERKLEY): Koch brothers-affiliated Freedom Partners attacks Sen. Jeff Merkley (D) on the national debt.

KY-SEN (MCCONNELL):Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) knocks President Obama for his handling of various issues, including the terrorist group ISIS, and ties Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes to the president. Grimes hits the GOP Senate leader for his committee absences.

SD-SEN (OPEN): Independent Larry Pressler touts his support for Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, with shots of him alongside both, in his newest ad. Democrat Rick Weiland hammers Republican Mike Rounds on the EB-5 visa scandal.

IA-3 (OPEN): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hits former Hill staffer David Young (R) for his Washington ties and attacks him on education in its first ad against him.

IL-12 (ENYART): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hits state Rep. Mike Bost (R) for his temperament in its first ad against him, featuring video of Bost “melting down” during floor speeches in the statehouse.

CA-31 (OPEN): Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar’s (D) first ad features his eighth-grade teacher praising his character.

CA-26 (BROWNLEY): The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee hits Republican Jeff Gorell as a “lobbyist” in its first ad against him.

NJ-03 (OPEN): Democrat Aimee Belgard criticizes insurance companies for “squeezing” the middle class, an implicit reference to Republican Tom MacArthur and the insurance company he owned that has become a centerpiece of Democratic attacks.

MA-06 (TIERNEY): Rep. John Tierney’s (D) primary challenger, Seth Moulton, touts his endorsements from the Boston Globe and Boston Herald — a rarity for the two papers, which align with opposite ends of the ideological spectrum — in his newest ad.

FL-02 (SOUTHERLAND): House Majority PAC’s newest ad features veterans talking about their experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder and charging Rep. Steve Southerland (R) voted against funding for veterans’ mental health care.

 

POLL POSITION

NH-SEN (SHAHEEN): Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) narrowly leads former Sen. Scott Brown (R-N.H.) 44 percent to 41 percent in a new poll conducted for the GOP-affiliated group American Crossroads by Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. 

LA-05 (MCALLISTER): Republican doctor Ralph Abraham leads Rep. Vance McAllister (R) in a new poll conducted by the Glascock Group, with 22 percent support to McAllister’s 20 percent support. Democrat Jamie Mayo takes third with 15 percent support.

 

2016 RUMBLINGS 

ROMNEY: Former presidential nominee Mitt Romney (R) penned an op-ed slamming President Obama for military cutbacks and criticizing his foreign policy.

CHRISTIE: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) called for an end to the U.S.’s oil export ban, saying North America should not let its “energy renaissance” be bogged down.

CARSON: Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson (R) will headline a major fundraising dinner for the Family Leader, a group of Iowa social conservatives, the organization announced Thurdsay.

PAUL: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said President Obama has weakened the presidency by not including Congress in the debate over military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and insisted he’s not an isolationist on foreign policy, in a Time op-ed published Thursday.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY 

“If we can’t build a fence high enough … we ought to go to China and see how they built a wall.”

— Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), quoted by the Bangor Daily News, on illegal immigration