After weeks spent on the defensive, Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk (R) targeted his Democratic opponent in two new TV ads released Wednesday.
One of the spots, titled "Risky," brings up Democrat Alexi Giannoulias's service in his father's bank and his age – 34. "But what a 34 years it's been,” the announcer says. "At his father's bank, Alexi made tens of millions in risky loans to convicted mobsters. Then the bank collapsed."
In "Stand," the announcer says Giannoulias's "top aide was a long-time BP lobbyist" whereas Kirk "won praise for helping stop BP when it tried to pollute Lake Michigan." The ad tries to bolster Kirk's green credentials after he was passed over for an endorsement this cycle by two key environmental groups.
The ads are Kirk's second move this week as he has fought to regain control of the campaign's narrative. They're airing on broadcast and cable stations in the Chicago media market, and were produced by Larry McCarthy.
A new Reuters poll shows Republican Carly Fiorina just four points behind Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) in California's Senate race.
Boxer leads with 45 percent of the vote to Fiorina's 41 percent with 13 percent of respondents undecided. It's a poll of 600 registered California voters.
The new numbers suggest there hasn't been much movement in the race during the past month. In early June, Rasmussen gave Boxer a five-point lead. And in late May, an L.A. Times poll had Boxer up six points.
In Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Fiorina told reporters she wanted to keep the focus on jobs and the economy in her race with Boxer. But she also backed the idea of repealing the recently enacted healthcare law.
Vice President Joe Biden's visit Tuesday to survey oil spill cleanup efforts along Florida's panhandle led to more sparring between the candidates in Florida's Senate contest.
Republican Marco Rubio again criticized the federal government's response to the spill. In a statement, Rubio said Floridians are frustrated by the government's "inaction" on the cleanup.
"I hope the vice president will return to Washington with a message that those on the ground in Florida are frustrated by the inaction, indecision and inability of the federal government to help deliver more boom, skimmers and resources to the affected communities," said Rubio. "For the sake of Florida's recovery and future, the federal response must get up to speed."
While Rubio didn't mention Gov. Charlie Crist (I) by name, his plea for the response to "get up to speed" is a veiled shot at Crist who told Fox News last week he thought the administration "has gotten up to speed."
There was also no mention of Rubio's position on continued offshore drilling. In a TV appearance Monday, Crist reiterated his support for a ban on drilling off Florida's coast.
Rubio has said he would support continued deepwater drilling, as long as it can be done safely.
Illinois Senate candidate Mark Kirk (R) again apologized for misstatements about his military service record and said he welcomed "honest debate" about his past.
"I've made mistakes when characterizing certain aspects of my accomplishments and experiences. I apologize for my mistakes, and I pledge to correct any errors," Kirk said in his prepared remarks. "I am not perfect, and I was careless. I will do better and make sure this never happens again."
Kirk addressed a morning news conference in suburban Chicago after weeks of avoiding the press.
It was only his second meeting with reporters since a scandal erupted at the end of May over discrepancies in accounts of his military service. Kirk had, in fact, literally been running from the press: He left a speech to the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago via the kitchen last week. Some observers dubbed it his "Peter Cottontail moment."
He had earlier apologized in a June 4 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board.
On Tuesday he said he was open to debating his Democratic opponent, Alexi Giannoulias, about his service record.
"I welcome an honest debate about my vision and service to Illinois, and I'm happy to compare my record in the military and in the Congress," he said. "Going forward, I will present my official record of service to compare to my opponent's. I will be mindful of my imperfection, remain humble, and the kind of public servant you deserve."
Kirk also promised to address major policy issues during a "series of speeches" over the summer.
Vice President Joe Biden did a second fundraiser Monday, this time in his home state of Delaware for Democratic Senate candidate Chris Coons.
"It's good to be home, and it's good to be campaigning for a guy who I would be proud to call senator,” he said after being greeted by a standing ovation, “I tell my colleagues in Washington that you're going to be amazed when you find out the quality of the man we're about to elect to the United States Senate."
Coons, a New Castle County executive, is challenging Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) for Biden’s old seat. In the past, Biden has called Castle a friend.
About 150 people attended the event, paying $1,000 a plate for an elaborate dinner at the Chase Center in Wilmington. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, union representatives, Sen. Tom Carper’s (D) wife, Martha, and state lawmakers were in attendance, according to a White House pool report.
Biden said they need someone like Coons to work through the "dark days” of the economy, a trait Coon showed by cutting spending, implementing a Safe Streets program, and achieving a triple-A bond rating as a county executive.
"We can't afford the same old, same old in Washington,” he said, “We need what Chris Coons stands for, what Chris Coons has demonstrated. Chris is a truly independent guy. He's a Democrat. He shares the same values we all share.”
He did not mention Castle. Castle is a popular figure in the state and polls have shown him in a double-digit lead in the Senate race. Coons decided to run after Biden's son, Beau Biden, declined to run for his father's seat.
A new Rasmussen poll out Tuesday shows Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) holding onto a double-digit lead in his race for reelection against Rep. Charlie Melancon (D).
Vitter leads 53 percent to 35 percent with 9 percent of respondents undecided. The automated survey polled 500 probable voters and has a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points.
The poll was conducted after news of the arrest of one of Vitter's legislative aides. Brent Furer was arrested for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend in 2008. The assault charges were eventually dropped, but Furer pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. After news outlets reported his arrest last week, Furer resigned but questions lingered over Vitter's knowledge of the events.
Another lingering issue in the race is the oil spill, with Vitter charging Melancon with backing the Obama administration's six-month deepwater drilling moratorium, which Melancon has repeatedly denied.
A Rassmussen poll released Monday found overwhelming support for offshore drilling among Louisiana voters — 79 percent still favor it.
-This post was updated and corrected at 12:35 p.m.
Illinois Republican Mark Kirk has scheduled a press conference in suburban Chicago on Tuesday where he'll "discuss the U.S. Senate race,” according to his campaign, which sent out two releases for the event.
It's only his second meeting with reporters since a scandal erupted at the end of May over discrepancies in accounts of his military service. In fact, Kirk had literally been running from the press: He left a speech to the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago via the kitchen last week. Some observers dubbed it his "Peter Cottontail moment."
Kirk’s dodging also gave his Democratic rival, Alexi Giannoulias, ammunition. The Democrat's campaign released a Web video (see below) last week making light of Kirk's lack of availability.
There will be a lot riding on this performance — Kirk has seen his poll numbers start to dip since the story began dominating the news.
A pair of Republicans who contributed to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's (I) campaign for Senate have filed a lawsuit demanding that those donations be returned.
The class action suit seeks refunds for all of Crist's GOP donors, arguing that not reimbursing Republican donors now that the governor has left the party and is running against a Republican actually violates state law.
The man leading the legal fight is Florida state Rep. Tom Grady, a former regional chairman of Crist's Senate campaign.
The Naples Daily Newsreports that the lawsuit is seeking an injunction that would prevent the Crist campaign from spending the money from Republican donors:
Grady said he’s arguing the case under state laws: unjust enrichment, breach of contract, and breach of covenants of good faith and fair dealing.
“I believe you cannot do what he did without some obligation for returning their money,” Grady said, noting politicians in similar situations historically have returned contributions, including Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who switched from Republican to Democrat last year.
“He actually did offer to give money back to people and no lawsuit was filed,” Grady said of Specter returning $850,000 to 900 people who requested refunds.
“I have waited for quite some time and it’s clear that’s not going to happen,” Grady said of Crist. “He was pretty blunt in saying he was not going to refund the money, but as you know, the governor changes his mind.”
A Republican campaign group founded by political guru Karl Rove went on the attack on Tuesday against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
American Crossroads, the 527 group founded by Rove and former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ed Gillespie, released a new TV ad in Nevada targeting Reid on a gaffe and his record on job creation.
"Harry Reid says, ‘No one can do more’ than he can. Really, Harry?" the ad asks, pointing to a Reid gaffe in which the top Senate Democrats praised a monthly job loss, which was relatively lower than previous months.
The ad is going up statewide in Nevada with an initial $120,000 buy. It makes no mention of Sharron Angle, the Republican candidate against Reid.
The attack on Reid is part of a concerted effort by American Crossroads, which organized to aid GOP candidates' efforts to unseat Democrats like Reid this fall, to affect races nationwide.
Reid's campaign, for its part, notes that a Reno newspaper has done fact checks on Reid's record on jobs and shown that Nevada's job losses are hardly the fault of the veteran senator.
Complicating the group's efforts was a report with the IRS in May showing that it had only raised $200 in May. The president of the group, however, told the Associated Press last week that they had secured $30 million in pledges to support the group, more than halfway toward its goal of raising $52 million this fall.
Reid has been among the most sought-after Democrats by Republicans this year, and has shown new signs of life in the polls after trailing several GOP candidates badly earlier this year. The majority leader also has a massive campaign warchest he'll use to hold on to his seat, meaning that the assistance by groups like American Crossroads could be crucial in pushing Angle to victory.
"Unfortunately, Senator Reid’s record of taxpayer-funded bailouts, government takeovers and spiraling debt has not helped the hundreds of thousands of Nevadans who are out of work or losing their homes,” said Mike Duncan, chairman of the board of American Crossroads and himself a former chairman of the RNC. “Nevada and the rest of the country deserve something better than Reid’s tired Washington formula of taxpayer-financed pork and attack politics.”
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