Todd Akin Remains in the Background in Tampa

Former Rep. Mike Castle (right) said Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin should "give serious thought whether he should continue forward." (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

TAMPA, Fla. — Even as the talk in Tampa revolves around Mitt Romney and Tropical Storm Isaac, the Senate candidacy of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin (R) remains on the minds of prominent Republicans.

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who also served as Republican National Committee chairman in the 1990s, conceded that the controversy surrounding Akin is a distraction for the Republicans, while former Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) reflected on how his 2010 Senate bid — and an easy GOP pickup — was derailed by a conservative primary challenger who never had a chance in the general election.

“I believe that obviously his comments were wrong, I think he has made apologies,” Castle said today in an interview with Roll Call, referring to Akin’s comments about rape. “But he’s also damaged his candidacy a great deal and perhaps affected Republicans across the country.”

“I think he needs to give serious thought whether he should continue forward,” Castle added. “Is the race winnable or it’s not? Is it better to substitute another candidate and does it impact negatively on other races, which I think is a concern of the Romney campaign and some others?”

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Charlie Crist to Speak at Democratic Convention

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

TAMPA, Fla. — Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican turned Independent, will speak at the Democratic National Convention, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Crist penned a Sunday op-ed column in that paper endorsing Barack Obama for re-election.

“As America prepares to pick our president for the next four years — and as Florida prepares once again to play a decisive role — I’m confident that President Barack Obama is the right leader for our state and the nation,” he wrote. “I applaud and share his vision of a future built by a strong and confident middle class in an economy that gives us the opportunity to reap prosperity through hard work and personal responsibility. It is a vision of the future proven right by our history.”

The executive director of Sen. Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund wrote a scathing letter to the group’s supporters about Crist’s endorsement of the president.

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CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing: Isaac Haze

Workers prepare for the start of the 2012 Republican National Convention by trashing a sign that spells "Change" because it was too small. It is being replaced with one that has bigger letters. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

The CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing is being published from the GOP Convention in Tampa, Fla., this week. For more information on signing up to receive this free email, click here.

THE PODIUM: It’s cordoned off until tomorrow afternoon, when the Republican National Convention will be called to order — just for a few minutes, after which it will be recessed until sometime Tuesday, after Tropical Storm (probably Hurricane, by then) Isaac has done whatever damage it’s going to do to the city. Planners say that at 5:45 today they’ll unveil their alternative three-days-instead-of-four schedule.

THE TICKET: “It really is sad, isn’t it, with all the issues that America faces for the Obama campaign to continue to stoop to such a low level,” Romney told Fox when asked about efforts to link him to Todd Aiken’s statements about abortion and rape. In the taped interview, he also said the controversy created by the Missouri Senate candidate “hurts our party and I think is damaging to women.” Full story

Weather Delays Kickoff of GOP Convention

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated 7:07 | Because of an approaching storm, the GOP presidential convention will convene on Monday but will immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said this evening in a statement.

The decision by the RNC effectively upends the first two days of the event that will officially nominate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate for president.

“Our first priority is ensuring the safety of delegates, alternates, guests, members of the media attending the Republican National Convention, and citizens of the Tampa Bay area,” Priebus said. “RNC Convention officials and the Romney campaign are working closely with state, local and federal officials, as well as the Secret Service, to monitor Tropical Storm Isaac and preserve Florida’s emergency management resources.” Full story

In Interview, GOP Chairman Dismisses Obama Ground Game

(Douglas Graham CQ/Roll Call File Photo)

TAMPA, Fla. — On the eve of the GOP presidential nominating convention, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus appears legitimately at ease.

Even as President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies move to overshadow the Gulf Coast gathering with a series of well-timed interviews, campaign stops and Tampa bracketing activities, Priebus in a Saturday interview with Roll Call was the opposite of cautiously optimistic about November and dismissed chatter that the convention is in danger of being overshadowed.

During a brief discussion as he hustled between media appearances and last-minute convention planning duties, I asked the Wisconsinite about this week’s four-day event, the battle for the White House, his home state and what it means to have House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan on the cusp of being nominated for vice president, as well as the Obama campaign’s vaunted voter turnout operation. The RNC chairman didn’t pull any punches.

“I find all of their ground-game talk to be garbage. They’ve got a decent ground game but they over-hype it so much,” said Priebus, who took the reigns of the Republican National Committee last year when it was more than $20 million in debt and being shunned by the wealthy GOP donor set he needed to get his operation presidential-campaign ready.

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Democrats Plan Counterpunch at Republican Convention

The Democratic National Committee has planned a weeklong counterprogram to the Republican National Convention in Tampa and across the country that will continue despite the postponement of Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Florida due to preparations for a possible hurricane.

The Democrats have opened a war room near the convention center and DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will be on hand in her home state along with other Democratic officials.

For the kickoff event today, the DNC invitations read “Limited Cadillac Parking Available” and “Medicare Vouchers Not Accepted.”

Ellen Canale, the DNC’s regional press secretary, said Democrats will likely hold two press conferences a day and are bringing in people from Massachusetts and elsewhere who know presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney to counter the convention’s narrative. Democrats also have a rolling billboard denouncing Romney that will drive around town touting the Democrats’ theme: “Romney Economics: Wrong for the Middle Class.”

The Democrats also released a new web video, “The Romney Bunch,” a takeoff on the Brady Bunch, launching snark at Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.),  GOP governors and even former Rep. Artur Davis, who abandoned the Democratic Party four years after speaking at the Democratic National Convention and will be speaking in Tampa this year. Davis is “in it for himself,” according to the ad.

Biden is still planning to come to Florida — probably on Tuesday — but pulled out of Monday events in Tampa so local law enforcement could focus on storm preparations rather than providing security ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac, which is projected to strengthen into a hurricane as it makes its way up Florida’s Gulf Coast.

President Barack Obama, meanwhile, will continue campaigning in battleground states during the convention. Obama will be taking a tour of college towns in Iowa, Colorado and Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

First Lady Michelle Obama will appear on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday. The appearance should air not long after Ryan gives his acceptance speech that night.

GOP Finalizes Prime Time Convention Line-up

TAMPA, FLA. — After a flurry of juggling today, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign and Republican convention organizers signed off on the speakers who will appear in prime time during next week’s GOP convention in Tampa.

Last minute changes were made after the broadcast networks decided not to cover Monday evening, when Romney’s wife, Ann, was scheduled to address  delegates in the Tampa Bay Times Forum arena. Mrs. Romney is considered among her husband’s most valuable campaign surrogates, and after considering several options, the campaign chose to move her speech to Tuesday and move New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez to Wednesday.

Reports surfaced this afternoon that the campaign was considering pushing Mrs. Romney’s speech to Thursday, and moving Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) to Tuesday. The campaign said Rubio offered to make the switch but it preferred to leave him in his original slot, as the speaker who will offer the final nominating speech for Romney before the former Massachusetts governor formally accepts the GOP presidential nomination. Full story

Mitt Romney to Todd Akin: Drop Out of Senate Race

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

Presumptive GOP White House nominee Mitt Romney today called on Rep. Todd Akin to drop his bid for Senate in the Show-Me State.

“As I said yesterday, Todd Akin’s comments were offensive and wrong and he should very seriously consider what course would be in the best interest of our country,” Romney said in a statement.

“Today, his fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and I think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race,” Romney said, referring to a joint statement from Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Missouri GOP Sens. Kit Bond, John Danforth and Jim Talent.

The pressure from Romney is probably the final twist of the GOP establishment vice trying to squeeze the embattled Congressman from a race that he is no longer seen as able to win after making inflammatory comments about rape. Akin has until 5 p.m. local time today to remove himself from the ballot without penalty.

Conservatives Happy, but Nervous, About Paul Ryan VP Pick

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks at a rally in Manassas, Va., during his "Plan for a Stronger Middle Class" bus tour. He announced Saturday morning that Rep. Paul Ryan would be his running mate. (Photo By Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

For Republicans, call Paul Ryan the schizophrenic choice.

Even as they celebrated Mitt Romney’s decision to select the House Budget chairman as his vice presidential running mate, they acknowledged it carries political risks for the GOP ticket in the November battle against President Barack Obama. Democrats are uniformly elated, believing that the Wisconsin lawmaker’s blueprint to overhaul Medicare could be a dagger to the heart of the Romney campaign — and a lifeboat for Obama, whose re-election is threatened by a potential wave of voter discontent.

Conversations with Republican professionals and Twitter exchanges with some of my “very” conservative followers since Saturday’s announcement reveal the GOP’s split personality over the Ryan pick.

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House Democrats Elated by Paul Ryan Pick. Should They Be?

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel said the party couldn't be more pleased with the contrast created by Rep. Paul Ryan's elevation to vice presidential nominee. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

If voters aren’t familiar yet with the “the Ryan budget,” they will be soon — and House Democrats couldn’t be happier about it.

Democrats already banked on using House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s (Wis.) proposed Medicare cuts as their primary attack point against the House GOP this fall, when the party faces tough odds in winning back the majority.

This morning, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney promoted the budget’s author to the national ticket — effectively making the plan a household name. An elated Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee encouraged its candidates to start shooting out press releases overnight.

“I just nominated Mitt Romney to be one of the DCCC’s newest Majority Makers,” DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) said today in a phone interview. “He may have handed the majority to us with his choice of Paul Ryan. The Ryan budget is a debate we know we win — and Mitt Romney just nationalized the debate.”

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Wisconsin: Paul Ryan Still Heavily Favored Over Rob Zerban Back Home

As Rep. Paul Ryan embarks on a national campaign, he will still have to run for re-election for his House seat.

Wisconsin law allows Ryan to seek both the vice presidency and another term in the House, and that is the understanding of what he will do, according to a Congressional campaign spokesman.

Ryan’s 1st district includes Republican pockets in the southeastern part of the state, and he won re-election last cycle by a 2-to-1 margin. The district was improved for him in redistricting. All of these points indicate that his re-election race should not be competitive, and Roll Call rates this race as Safe Republican.

But even before Ryan was picked as the vice presidential nominee, Democrats were making noise about giving him more of a race than he’s used to. He has a wealthy Democratic opponent, Rob Zerban, who has worked relentlessly to convince the political establishment that this is a real race. His argument is that Ryan has not had a serious opponent in years and that there is an opportunity for an organized Democrat to force an upset. Full story

Mitt Romney Picks Paul Ryan as Running Mate

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Updated 7:19 a.m. | Mitt Romney has tapped Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential running mate, his campaign announced Saturday morning.

Official word of the pick came via a press release a little after 7 a.m. titled “Mitt Romney & Paul Ryan: America’s Comeback Team.” The pick was first reported in the wee hours of Saturday morning by NBC News’ Chuck Todd, who cited three sources.

The announcement will come Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va., in front of the USS Wisconsin. The event is the first stop of a multiday campaign bus tour for Romney and his newly minted running mate.

Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has taken on an increased national profile as the architect of the GOP’s budget plan that proposes dramatic reforms to entitlement programs.

His stock as a VP pick rose in recent weeks as a chorus of conservatives, including the Weekly Standard and Wall Street Journal, publicly encouraged Romney to make a bold choice with Ryan. The pick is viewed as likely to energize the Republican base. Full story

Mitt Romney to Announce VP Pick Saturday

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

After weeks and months of speculation about whom Mitt Romney will tap to be his vice presidential running mate, the presumptive GOP nominee will unveil his pick on Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va.

Romney’s campaign released a media advisory just after 11 p.m. tonight announcing that the news would come as the former Massachusetts governor kicks off of his bus tour. Full story

RNC Spends $17 Million on TV Since Mid-July

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

The Republican National Committee over the weekend reported spending another $3.8 million on independent expenditure television advertising to bolster Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, bringing its total to more than $17 million in less than a month.

Though hardly eyebrow raising compared with the investments of various pro-Romney and Republican-leaning super PACs, it is notable that the RNC chose to go on the air in July with significant buys to help counter President Barack Obama’s swing-state tsunami of television spots. The RNC tends to focus it resources on state party building and voter-turnout operations while leaving the air-war to the GOP nominee’s campaign.

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Mitt Romney, RNC Raise $101 Million in July

(CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign announced this morning that it raised $101.3 million in July and closed the month with $185.9 million in cash on hand.

Update 10:45 a.m. | The figures include money raised and banked by the Republican National Committee and Romney Victory Inc., a joint fundraising committee made up of Romney for President, the RNC, the state Republican parties of Idaho, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Vermont, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Full story