Senate races

Sen. Russ Feingold's (D-Wis.) main Republican competition is running neck-and-neck with him, according to a new poll.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters shows Feingold with 46 percent support to businessman Ron Johnson’s 44 percent.

Johnson was endorsed at last weekend's state GOP convention.

Republicans will formally pick their nominee in the Sept. 14th primary, but Johnson is expected to get the nomination.

In its analysis of the race, Rasmussen notes that Feingold continues to fall short of 50 percent regardless of the Republican he's matched up against.

Feingold's campaign released a statement on the poll.

"It's time for the media to move beyond our opponents slogans, junk polls, who's in and who out, and start covering the issues that matter to the people of Wisconsin," said Trevor Miller, a spokesman for Feingold's campaign.

-- This post was updated at 1:50 p.m.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist won't be endorsed by one prominent independent politician.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who originally ran as a Republican but switched to an independent party, will not endorse Crist's Senate campaign, reports the St. Petersburg Times.

NYC Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson told the paper that rumors Bloomberg would endorse Crist were "false" and the chances of the mayor helping Crist out were "zero." Wolfson said: "Mayor Bloomberg was very disappointed that Gov. Crist vetoed an excellent education bill and has no intention of endorsing him."

Crist announced in April he would abandon his bid for the Republican nomination and run as an independent.

And Bloomberg isn't the only independent keeping his distance from Crist.

Earlier this month, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told The Hill he and Crist "have agreed to keep in touch" but didn't say anything about an endorsement.

Lieberman, who kept his Senate seat by running as an independent after he lost the Democratic nomination in 2006, said he and Crist talked about running as an independent but an endorsement wasn't specifically discussed.

"I wish him well," Lieberman said. "We talked and just agreed to keep in touch."

Bill Clinton praised Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) for her role in passing financial reform legislation at a time when unions are accusing the senator of "representing Wall Street."

"She has written the toughest Wall Street reform proposal to help Main Street businesses," Clinton said in a statement released ahead of his "countdown to victory" rally with Lincoln.

Clinton also makes the argument that the incumbent can bring the federal bacon home for Arkansas — a pitch that may fall on deaf ears in a year when government spending is so unpopular.

"She has fought for Arkansas farmers, ranchers and foresters," the former president said. "Arkansas cannot afford to lose Blanche's leadership as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee."

Clinton will be in Little Rock on Friday for a rally with Lincoln at Philander Smith College.

Republicans believe Lincoln's defense of her left flank makes her more vulnerable in the general.

"Her continued unabashed support of the Obama Administration's far-left policies puts her at odds with the majority of her state and out of touch with voters," Katie Wright, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement.

Updated at 11:34 a.m.

Former GOP Senate candidate Rob Simmons (Conn.) said Wednesday he does not think his ex-primary opponent Linda McMahon can beat her Democratic opponent.

In an interview with the conservative National Review, the former congressman said McMahon cannot defeat state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democratic nominee:

Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R., Conn.) tells National Review Online that he does not think that Linda McMahon can win in the Nutmeg State. “No, I don’t think so at all,” he tells us. And if McMahon asks Simmons for help on the trail, he says he’ll say he is “preoccupied.”

On Tuesday, Simmons suspended his campaign against McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO, who has spent a good deal of her personal wealth on the race.

In his remarks, Simmons was noncommittal about endorsing or campaigning for McMahon.

A Vietnam combat veteran, Simmons thinks he would be a better candidate against Blumenthal, who came under fire for repeatedly misrepresenting his service record during the Vietnam War.

“He blinked when I challenged him and issued an apology,” Simmons told National Review. “It is an issue of character. He has every reason to be proud of the service he has done, so to embellish it to get support from veterans is just wrong.”

But the ex-congressman said McMahon could also face attacks on her character on the trail due to allegations of suspect activity during her tenure running the wrestling circuit.

“While she was there, they had a mentally-handicapped character, Eugene, who they thought was humorous," he said. "I find that whole issue, and how it was handled by [McMahon], severely disappointing," adding that she has "countless entertainment products that she’ll have to defend, especially when Democrats make them known to the public in coming months."

Cross-posted to the Briefing Room 

Nevada Senate candidate Sue Lowden isn't the only Republican under scrutiny ahead of the June 8 primary.

The Tea Party-backed Sharron Angle (R) is being forced to answer questions about why her campaign website removed claims that she, together with actresses Kelly Preston and Jenna Elfman, lobbied Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) to sponsor legislation prohibiting school employees from requiring students to take psychotropic drugs.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

_{Preston and Elfman are high-profile members of the Church of Scientology, which does not believe in the use of psychiatric drugs.}

_{Instead, Angle's website, sharronangle.com, says only that Ensign sponsored a bill "at Angle's request."}

_{(In 2001 and 2003, Angle introduced legislation in Nevada similar to the federal legislation, which passed.)}

_{The apparent scrubbing of her website of the potentially controversial issue — critics of Scientology call it a cult — comes as Angle gains ground in the Republican primary, which has narrowed to a three-way race to take on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.}

_{Angle's surge has been fueled in part by the missteps of her opponents and a spate of national endorsements, including from the Tea Party Express and conservative Club for Growth.}

_{Sue Lowden, formerly the clear front-runner, has begun attacking Angle, including for her support in 2003 of a drug-treatment program for inmates that included saunas and massages as treatment.}

_{Lowden’s campaign and many establishment Republicans believe it would be difficult for Angle to beat Reid in the general election. Angle has taken rigid ideological stands that may help her in the primary, but would likely alienate many independents and Democrats in November.}

_{Any ties to Scientology could be troublesome for a candidate whose biggest challenge may be convincing Republican primary voters that she can gather mainstream support.}

_{Jerry Stacy, spokesman for Angle, said the attacks are "desperate. This is what desperate people do. (Lowden) is in serious trouble. This is no longer just about who can beat Harry Reid. It’s about who will best represent Nevada."}

Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul (R) replaced his campaign manager with a veteran staffer from his father's 2008 presidential run, the Ballot Box has confirmed.

David Adams will now chair the effort with Jesse Benton coming in as manager. Benton was Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) communications director during his 2008 presidential run.

Adams denied the shakeup was a result of the media firestorm that resulted from Rand Paul's comments about civil rights. "This is totally unrelated to that," he told the Ballot Box. Adams said the move had been "in the works" since before the primary vote.

Still, he admitted that word leaked out about the changes before the campaign was prepapred to make a public announcement. "We're in the process still of putting everything on paper," he said. "We're still working on this internally."

Adams said he was satisfied with his new role. "I'm very pleased with the changes. It will make my life easier," he said.

The Paul campaign is expecting to announce new hires in the coming days, he added.

Someone got their wires crossed at the DSCC this afternoon.

Earlier today, we posted a story about Vice President Joe Biden cracking a joke at the expense of Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal. It's not the kind of story Democrats would normally be thrilled about — in fact, it's just the opposite. But for some reason the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) posted the story on their website.

The link has now been taken down, but you can see a screenshot below. We've asked the DSCC for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

 

Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday took an unexpected dig at Connecticut Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal (D) for misstating his military service record. 

While speaking at a barbecue for wounded soldiers, he commented about veterans coming home from the Vietnam War. Biden, who has a penchant for being loquacious, veered into the Connecticut Senate race. 

"I didn't serve in Vietnam. I don't want to make a Blumenthal mistake here," he said according to a pool report. "Our attorney general from Connecticut, God love him." 

Later he said "I have a bad habit of saying exactly what I think."

Blumenthal became the brunt of Republican criticism after The New York Times reported he misstated his service record during the Vietnam War on several occasions. 

The attorney general, who is the front-runner in the race, said he served in Vietnam and gave the impression he returned from the war and was spit upon with fellow veterans. 

After receiving several deferments, Blumenthal finally enlisted in the Marine Reserves and served in Washington, D.C. 

The candidate has apologized for his comments and Democrats have stood beside him, saying the criticism against him is simply his opponents blowing matters out of proportion.

Cross-posted from the Briefing Room

Washington State Republican Dino Rossi announced his Senate candidacy Wednesday in a video posted on a new website.

"Are you angry about the trillion dollar budget deficits, the wasteful stimulus packages and the bailouts for Wall Street?" he asks in the video. Rossi then talks about "job-killing taxes and regulations" and a "partisan, ill-conceived healthcare bill." If elected, he promises to "replac[e] the Pelosi-Reid healthcare bill."

Noting his experience in the state Senate, Ross says, "I bring a set of skills and experiences that are valuable during this time of crisis."

He doesn't mention his Democratic opponent, Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), by name but rather says he's running against "an establishment that stands for the politics as usual that got us into this mess."

The video was due to be posted at 7 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, but didn't show up until later in the morning. In the meantime, Rossi's website remained focused on his real estate business, Coast Equity Partners. 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee issued a memo questioning Rossi's "ethical conduct" to coincide with his announcement.

President Barack Obama flew across the country Tuesday to help an old colleague he'd once bonded with in a "foxhole."

"On every fight that needed to be fought, Barbara [Boxer] was there, standing right there next to me, and sometimes we were in a foxhole together and shots were being fired," Obama said at an evening fundraising reception in San Francisco.

"That's just a figure of speech," he added. "I don't want the Secret Service getting excited."

Ahead of the visit, Boxer called Obama and said, "I need some help," according to the president. She's expected to face a tough reelection fight against either former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) or former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (R).

"When it comes to Barbara Boxer, I'm a lot like many of you, which is if she calls and she says, 'I need some help,' then we’re going to give her some help, because she has helped millions of Californians and millions of Americans all across the country," Obama said, according to a White House transcript.

But with oil still spilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the final venue for the evening's three fundraisers was notable.

After two events at the Fairmont Hotel, which were expected to raise at least $1.7 million for Boxer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Obama went to an exclusive VIP dinner at the mansion of wealthy oil heir Gordon Getty and his wife, Ann, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Gordon is the son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. The event at his home required a $35,200 donation per couple.

Obama, who has been criticized for not taking a tougher approach with BP, will make a second trip to the Gulf region on Friday.