New England Republicans, More Democrats Decry Mitt Romney’s Comments

At least two Republican Senate candidates have publicly disagreed with their presidential nominee’s view that the 47 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes consider themselves “victims” and are “dependent upon government.”

“That’s not the way I view the world,” Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said, joining a chorus of Democrats who chided Romney’s comments.

“I disagree with Gov. Romney’s insinuation that 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care,” former World Wrestling Executive Linda McMahon (R) said in a statement for her Connecticut Senate bid.

Earlier this week, the liberal magazine Mother Jones released a surreptitiously recorded video of Romney speaking to donors during a May fundraiser in Florida. The GOP nominee’s casual comments reverberated throughout the political world and down the Congressional ballot. Full story

Republicans Launch New Round of Ads in House Races

The National Republican Congressional Committee and other GOP-aligned outside groups launched a new round of television advertising over the weekend in a bevy of House races.

With seven weeks to go until Election Day, the NRCC on Sunday released 10 new TV ads — six in districts the group is working to hold and four in districts the GOP hopes to pick up. Democrats must score a net gain of 25 seats in November to wrestle back control of the House majority. Full story

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell Hires Jesse Benton as 2014 Campaign Manager

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) today announced he has hired Jesse Benton to manage his 2014 campaign.

Benton, who has deep ties to the tea party movement in Kentucky and around the country, led Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) White House bid and managed now-Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) general election campaign in 2010.

If McConnell accrues any political vulnerability on his right flank in Kentucky — and Bluegrass State GOP political operatives believe he doesn’t have much right now — having Benton as his top campaign aide is likely to help significantly reduce the threat of a serious primary challenge. But the move does more than just help in the primary. Full story

Oklahoma: Markwayne Mullin Treated for Tear in Esophagus

Plumbing company owner Markwayne Mullin made an unexpected trip to the hospital over the weekend to treat “a small tear” in his esophagus, according to the 2nd district GOP nominee’s Facebook page.

“I’m feeling much better now and the Doctors and Nurses are doing a great job,” Mullin wrote on Sunday. “I’ll be in the hospital until about the end of the week as they keep an eye on me but then I’ll be back on the campaign trail.”

Mullin faces former Assistant District Attorney Rob Wallace (D) in an open-seat race generated by Rep. Dan Boren’s (D) retirement.

Mullin is favored to win the seat despite his brief break from the campaign trail.

Roll Call rates this race as Leans Republican.

Iowa: Chris Christie to Campaign for Steve King

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (above) will campaign in Iowa for Rep. Steve King. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will campaign in the first-in-the-nation caucus state next week to boost Iowa Rep. Steve King (R).

King’s campaign announced today that Christie will “keynote” King’s Defenders of Freedom luncheon on Sept. 20 in Sioux City, Iowa.

King is seeking re-election in a competitive race against former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack (D). Both parties are targeting the northwestern Iowa district and Roll Call rates the race as Leans Republican. Full story

Michigan: Kerry Bentivolio Wins GOP Nod for Special Election

Reindeer rancher Kerry Bentivolio will get a head start on Congress if he wins in November.

The Republican won the GOP nomination for the same-day special election for former Rep. Thaddeus McCotter’s (R) seat Wednesday night, defeating the same candidate he beat last month for his party’s nod in the general election.

McCotter’s resignation prompted a special election to replace him for the final few weeks in Congress later this year. Bentivolio remained the only Republican on the ballot in the August primary and defeated a write-in candidate, former state Sen. Nancy Cassis, for the GOP nod.

On Wednesday night, Bentivolio defeated Cassis again in the special election primary — this time with her name on the ballot — as well as three other candidates. He will face UAW official Dave Curson in the special election in November. On the same day he’ll face Democrat Syed Taj, a doctor and Canton Township trustee, for a seat in the 113th Congress.

Indiana: Club for Growth Boosts Richard Mourdock With $800K Buy

(Shira Toeplitz CQ/Roll Call File Photo)

The conservative cavalry will boost Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) with a massive television ad buy for his Senate campaign.

The Club for Growth announced today that it bought $800,000 in ad time to run a spot attacking the Democratic nominee, Rep. Joe Donnelly, as a “Washington liberal” on cable and broadcast.

The television buy comes just in time for Mourdock. Democrats have released several internal polls showing the two candidates have been in a statistical tie since the May primaries. Roll Call rates this race as Leans Republican.

Full story

RPR: Opposition Trackers Follow Candidates to Tampa, Charlotte

Rep. Connie Mack and his wife, Rep. Mary Bono Mack, were among the Members who attended the GOP Convention. The Congressman had a speaking role Thursday night. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

This story originally appeared in the Rothenberg Political Report.

TAMPA, Fla. — In the modern era of campaigns, candidates in competitive races can’t go anywhere without someone from the other party following them with a video camera — and the party conventions are no different.

Fewer GOP House and Senate candidates made the trek to the Republican National Convention here in Florida, and few Democratic candidates in competitive races are expected to attend the Democratic National Convention next week either. While some of them want to avoid the headache of being tied to the unpopular national parties, there is a new excuse emerging — the proliferation of trackers.

Democratic trackers are following GOP candidates here in Tampa and, according to GOP strategists, there will be GOP trackers following Democrats in Charlotte next week. Full story

Marco Rubio Overcomes Awkward Lead-In With Soaring Speech

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

TAMPA, Fla. — This can’t be how the Romney campaign or rising Republican rock star Marco Rubio imagined it.

Moments before the freshman Senator from Florida took the stage to deliver the speech of his life — one that touched on a moving life story, conservative values and the American dream — 82-year-old actor Clint Eastwood was on stage here at the Tampa Bay Times Forum talking to an imaginary President Barack Obama and a real-life empty chair.

Despite a palpable discomfort in the arena, Rubio took the stage in a speech that many anticipated to be comparable to the keynote address delivered by a then-state Sen. Obama in 2004 that catapulted him to the presidency four years later. Full story

Jeb Bush Issues Surprise Defense of Brother George W. Bush

TAMPA, Fla. — In comments not included in his prepared text, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) defended his brother, President George W. Bush, saying it was time President Barack Obama stop blaming the bad economy on his predecessor.

“My brother, well, I love my brother. He is a man of integrity, courage and honor. And during incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe,” Bush said to a cheering Tampa Bay Times Forum.

“Mr. President, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies,” Bush continued. “You were dealt a tough hand, but your policies have not worked. In the fourth year of your presidency, a real leader would accept responsibility for his actions, and you haven’t done it.”

“I just had to get that off my chest,” Bush concluded, before moving on with a speech focused on education reform.

George W. Bush has been a favorite target of Democrats and generally ignored by the GOP since he left office in 2009, although the former president has purposely shied away from politics. Only one Bush administration official — former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — spoke to the convention here in Tampa. Neither George W. Bush nor former Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to Tampa.

CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing: Bounce-ology

(Tom Williams/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: The convention’s final meeting opens at 7; the climax starts at about 10:20, when Romney will take the stage (using a set altered just for him, and appearing on every broadcast and cable station with any interest in governance) to deliver the most important speech of his long and varied career.

The first hour’s headliners will be Newt and Callista Gingrich, who will share the stage. There will be the customary video tribute to Ronald Reagan. Decent-shot host-state Senate aspirant Connie Mack has been awarded a few minutes in the national spotlight, but the Floridian who’ll get more coverage is Jeb Bush. His speech is the second-hour highlight. The 9 o’clock hour will be devoted to in-person and on-tape nominee testimonials — from Staples co-founder (and Bain Capital beneficiary) Tom Stemberg; Romney’s lieutenant governor and top economic development official in Massachusetts, Kerry Healey and Jane Edmonds; and Olympians Michael Eruzione, Derek Parra and Kim Rhode.

There’s overwhelming gossip about the identity of a “mystery guest” (Clint Eastwood, almost certainly) to kick off the prime time hour. But the only other scheduled speaker is Marco Rubio, who’s been allotted a full 15 minutes to remind people why he’s a rising GOP star — and to introduce Romney. His speech is supposed to be done in time for the balloon drop to begin right at the start of the 11 o’clock news. Full story

Dick Durbin: Conventions Are On the Way Out

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

TAMPA, Fla. — Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) arrived at the Republican National Convention to provide rapid Democratic response, but he also questioned whether the party nomination hoopla might soon be a thing of the past.

“I wonder about conventions as part of our political process,” Durbin said tonight in an interview with Roll Call in the media workspace at the RNC. “It’s a pretty expensive undertaking and time-consuming undertaking, and the day may come, in the world of social media, that there’s another way to do this.” Full story

Paul Ryan Revs Up Home State Crowd at Brats and Beer Event

Rep. Paul Ryan and his wife, Janna, wave to the crowd at a Wisconsin event at the Republican National Convention. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

TAMPA, Fla. — Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee, dropped by a Wisconsin delegation party today, just a few hours before he will formally accept his nomination and address the national GOP convention.

Ryan stepped on stage, which is already set up for a Kid Rock concert tonight, and surprised the home state crowd that was munching on brats, sipping beer and swaying to the tunes of the Swinging Bavarians.

Standing alongside his wife, Janna, the native of Janesville thanked the delegation for making the trip down and pumped up the crowd with brief remarks. Full story

CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing: Where Is the Wow?

Mitt Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, prepares for his speech tonight at the 2012 Republican National Convention. (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: The convention convenes for its second day at 7 — but the broadcast networks won’t start showing anything until 10, half an hour before Paul Ryan appears to deliver his acceptance speech and introduce himself to the nation.

The proceedings open with Ayla Brown singing the national anthem (while her dad’s back in Massachusetts working to save his Senate seat). The first hour’s most prominent speakers are Mitch McConnell and his Kentucky colleague Rand Paul — who’s been having a tough time this week balancing his filial loyalty to the convention’s No. 1 killjoy with his desire to be a player in the Senate and the mainstream national GOP. (Romney’s most nettlesome rival, denied his own turn on stage, is leaving town before his son speaks but will be given a video tribute.) The 8 o’clock hour’s top appearances will be by John McCain, John Thune and Rob Portman; beyond personifying the party’s generational shift, all three senators will tout their roles in shaping defense and foreign policy as part of the day’s “We change it” theme.

Full story

Arizona: Paul Gosar, Matt Salmon Win GOP Races; 9th District Battle Set

Rep. Paul Gosar won a competitive GOP primary on Tuesday in Arizona. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Paul Gosar beat back a competitive GOP primary challenge Tuesday and former Rep. Matt Salmon won the nomination that clears the way for him to return to Congress after a more than decade long hiatus.

The GOP races in the 4th and 5th districts were the two most-watched Republican primaries outside of the blockbuster Member-vs.-Member race involving Reps. David Schweikert and Ben Quayle in the 6th district. Full story