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OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Bleak numbers for McConnell
TOP STORY: McConnell’s tough new numbers
Tough news for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — he ranks as the nation's least popular senator, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted by Democratic polling firm Public Policy Polling, showed that more than half — 55 percent — of Kentucky voters disapprove of their senator, while just 37 percent of those surveyed signaled support.
"Both in terms of raw disapproval (55 percent) and net approval (-18) McConnell has the worst numbers of any of his peers, taking that mantle from Nebraska's Ben Nelson [(D-Neb.)]," PPP Director Tom Jensen said in a statement.
McConnell is still a favorite for reelection, however. The five-term senator is favored in hypothetical match-ups against any of the leading contenders in the Democratic field, including actress and Kentucky native Ashley Judd, who is rumored to be considering a bid.
Judd trails the senator 47-43 percent, as does Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson and Attorney General Jack Conway. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer trails 46-41 percent, and McConnell posts a double-digit advantage over Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.).
Other polls paint a rosier picture for McConnell. A Bluegrass poll released in September gave McConnell a 51-42 percent approval rating, with the senator showing strong support among self-identified conservatives. McConnell performed similarly well in a SurveyUSA poll conducted at the end of October.
"It speaks volumes that even a liberal Democrat pollster with an agenda to make Mitch McConnell look bad still can't find an opponent who can lead him in Kentucky," said McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton. "This Democrat poll has a long-held reputation for skewed approval numbers and that's obviously the case here since there is no poll, public or private, that has shown Senator McConnell's approval ratings anywhere near where PPP suggests."
TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: President Obama attends meetings at the White House.
TWEET OF THE DAY: “We're still kids in this place -- happy birthday to @MaxBaucus” — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who turned 69 on Tuesday, the same day Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) turned 71
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “My network contract prohibits me from taking on another full-time job. So, the Senate would be perfect.” — Stephen Colbert
AD WATCH:
BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:
Since election night, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has been lying low, issuing releases outlining Republican leadership shifts and its weekly news roundup but putting out little commentary on the parties’ negotiations to deal with the nation’s debt crisis.
CALIFORNIA: Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.) set a California House race record by spending a combined $11.7 million on their races, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis of recently released campaign finance reports.
SENATE SHOWDOWN:
MISSOURI: Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) still hasn't retired his campaign debt, more than a month after an election he lost to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) after undermining his own bid with controversial comments about rape and pregnancy.
NORTH CAROLINA: A new poll finds Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) atop a field of potential Republican Senate candidates vying to challenge Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) in her 2014 reelection bid. Foxx pulled 17 percent of Republican primary voters surveyed by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, good for a narrow lead over Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.), the choice of 14 percent of those surveyed.
PENNYSLVANIA: Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) will stay in the Senate and isn't considering a 2014 run against Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R), he told The Hill on Tuesday.
SOUTH CAROLINA: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has finalized her shortlist of candidates to replace outgoing Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), according to a source close to the governor. The list includes five Republican South Carolina politicians who are close to Haley: Rep. Tim Scott, Rep. Trey Gowdy, former state Attorney General Henry McMaster, former first lady Jenny Sanford and Catherine Templeton, a conservative attorney Haley has picked to head the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.
SOUTH CAROLINA PART II: Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) standing with South Carolina's primary voters has improved dramatically in the last year, according to a new survey from the Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling. Graham's approval rating with primary voters is at 66 percent, with 26 percent disapproving. He leads a generic "more conservative" Republican in the race by 51 to 40 percent, a big jump from the 37 to 52 percent position he was in when the pollster last checked slightly less than a year ago.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has received his first Democratic challenger in Barbara Buono, the New Jersey state Senator who filed on Tuesday to run in 2013.
Charles and David Koch, the pair of billionaire brothers who helped bankroll a significant portion of outside conservative spending in the last election cycle, announced they were postponing their semi-annual meeting so they could further analyze the election results.
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-- Updated at 9:01 p.m.
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