Massachusetts: Richard Tisei Leads John Tierney in Republican Poll

Richard Tisei (above) took 40 percent to Rep. John Tierney's 33 percent in a recent poll. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Congressional candidate Richard Tisei (R) led Rep. John Tierney (D) by 7 points in a recent 6th district poll.

In a confidential polling memo sent from GOP pollster John McLaughlin to Tisei’s campaign manager — and obtained by Roll Call — Tisei took 40 percent to Tierney’s 33 percent, with 27 percent undecided. The horse race numbers include voters who definitely, probably and lean toward voting for each candidate.

Six months before the election, it’s a potentially major development in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, a state that hasn’t elected a Republican to the House since 1994. It’s also likely to be a fundraising boon to Tisei, who has outraised Tierney in each of the past two quarters. Full story

Louisiana: Jeff Landry Announces Bid Against Charles Boustany

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Member-vs.-Member battle in the Bayou has begun and this Pelican State brawl is going to get very, very dirty.

Freshman GOP Rep. Jeff Landry announced tonight he will face off with four-term Republican Rep. Charles Boustany in Louisiana’s newly configured 3rd district in the state’s November “jungle primary.” Calling himself a “consistent, common-sense, Cajun conservative,” he slammed Boustany.

“I am not your typical Congressman,” Landry said, according to his prepared remarks. “If that is what you are looking for, that’s not me; that’s the other guy.”

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Ron Paul to Stop Competing in Primaries, Focus on Convention Delegates

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Ron Paul announced today he will suspend active campaigning in the GOP presidential race, but will continue to campaign for delegates at state conventions. The news comes after his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), late last week dismissed the suggestion that his father is quietly planning a nominating convention coup.

“For all practical purposes, it is over. The numbers are there and Mitt Romney’s going to win the nomination,” Rand Paul said during an interview Thursday.  Full story

Montana: Jon Tester Launches Sixth TV Ad

Montana Sen. Jon Tester continued his aggressive media strategy this week by launching yet another in a string of positive TV ads.

The latest is a 60-second spot featuring the Democrat’s wife, Sharla, and shots of Tester climbing into his tractor, reading to young students, sitting in a science lab with college students, speaking with veterans, sitting at a small table with senior citizens and walking with shotgun-wielding hunters. Full story

Obama, Romney Camps Trade Barbs Over Bain Capital

President Barack Obama’s campaign launched a new attack on the role of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital in a failed Missouri steel company today — while the Romney camp returned fire by pointing to failures on Obama’s watch, including Solyndra.

The Obama campaign released a new 6-minute web ad attacking Romney’s record, particularly the profits he and Bain Capital made at a bankrupt company called GST Steel. The ad comes a week after the campaign had talked about what it said would be a largely positive $25 million ad buy in swing states.

The campaign also created a 2-minute version of the ad, which it will be running on television in Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Virginia. The ad will run for only one day – Wednesday – during the evening news in those states, according to the Washington Post.

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Orrin Hatch Donated $10K to Richard Mourdock After Primary

Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock received a congratulatory call from Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Thursday, two days after Mourdock’s 20-point defeat of Sen. Dick Lugar in the Indiana Republican primary.

Hatch, who is facing a conservative challenge of his own in a primary next month, spoke with Mourdock for 10 minutes and cut him a check for $10,000 from his leadership political action committee, Orrin PAC. Full story

Arkansas: Tom Cotton Up in New 4th District Poll

A new poll shows attorney Tom Cotton has pulled ahead of 2010 GOP nominee Beth Anne Rankin in the 4th Congressional district’s GOP primary.

A May 10 Talk Business-Hendrix College survey of likely voters found Cotton garnered 51 percent to Rankin’s 33 percent. Ten percent didn’t know for whom they would vote.

An earlier poll by the same group, conducted on April 17, found the race tied at 38.5 percent each.

Cotton has been up on local TV with some strong biographical ads, which may explain his movement in the poll. Full story

Arizona: Babeu Polling Third Before Dropping Out

Sheriff Paul Babeu (center) withdrew from the 4th district race today. A poll released today showed him in third place in the GOP field. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

State Sen. Ron Gould’s campaign conducted a poll this week of the GOP field in the Arizona 4th district race, and a source said Sheriff Paul Babeu was sitting in third place in that survey.

Babeu announced his withdrawal from the race early Friday morning. His own campaign had conducted a poll as recently as this week, according to his political consultant, Chris DeRose.

“We had a poll that came back Tuesday that showed us within single digits of the lead,” DeRose said.

A January poll from the Babeu camp had him as the frontrunner in the race. But then February came, and the Babeu campaign found itself at the center of a firestorm involving his sexuality and accusations about his ethics.

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Florida: Democratic Poll Shows Allen West Tied With Patrick Murphy

A poll released Thursday by Rep. Allen West's Democratic opponent showed the race as a dead heat. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

A poll released Thursday by Congressional candidate Patrick Murphy (D) found him tied with Republican Rep. Allen West 45 percent to 45 percent in a horse-race matchup. Ten percent of the likely voters polled were undecided. Murphy is challenging West in Florida’s newly configured 18th district.

The survey conducted by longtime Florida pollster Keith Frederick found that West, one of the 112th Congress’ most outspoken Members, has 83 percent name recognition in the district. The polling memo released publicly did not include Murphy’s name ID. Both decided to run for the newly-configured seat after redistricting; both were previously running in Florida’s 22nd district.

The survey found presumptive GOP White House nominee Mitt Romney leading President Barack Obama in the district. In a ballot test, Romney led with 49 percent to Obama’s 46 percent. Four percent were undecided.

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Arizona: NRCC Releases New Ad Against Ron Barber

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a new ad targeting Arizona 8th district Democratic nominee Ron Barber that ties him to Medicare cuts, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Barack Obama.

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California: Howard Berman Greeted Obama in Brad Sherman’s District

Neither President Barack Obama nor former President Bill Clinton have officially picked sides in the clash of Democratic Congressmen from California’s San Fernando Valley. But Obama and Clinton have dropped strong hints regarding where they stand.

It was Rep. Howard Berman — not Rep. Brad Sherman — who greeted Obama on Thursday at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, which is in Sherman’s current district. Berman then rode with Obama in the motorcade to a campaign fundraiser at the Studio City home of actor George Clooney, which is in the Congressman’s district. Full story

Arizona: Sheriff Paul Babeu Drops Out of House Race

Sheriff Paul Babeu has dropped his Congressional bid.

The Arizona Republican, whose recent admission that he was gay roiled his campaign, made his announcement in an overnight email to supporters.

“I have decided to end our congressional campaign and seek re-election as Pinal County Sheriff,” he wrote. “Yesterday, I informed my campaign staff and our finance team of my decision to run for re-election.”

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Kentucky: Rand Paul Backs Thomas Massie in Race to Succeed Geoff Davis

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today filmed a TV ad in support of Congressional candidate Thomas Massie and plans to endorse him soon.

“I’ve made the decision today to go ahead and help him,” Paul said in an interview today in his Senate office. “I filmed an ad for him today.”

Massie, the Lewis County judge-executive, is locked in a competitive race for Kentucky’s open 4th district seat, currently occupied by retiring Rep. Geoff Davis (R). The other two top contenders in the race are state Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington and Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore. Full story

Steve Israel Projects Democratic Gains, Says Gay Marriage Not Very Relevant in House Races

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) predicted his party would make gains in this fall’s elections but stopped short of guaranteeing it would net the 25 seats needed to make Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Speaker again.

“Whether or not we take the majority back, there will be more Democrats in the House,” he told reporters today at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast.

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NRCC Loads First Round of Young Guns

Utah Congressional candidate Mia Love, who is in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings, was one of the candidates promoted to "Young Guns" status. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

The National Republican Congressional Committee today announced its first round of Young Guns — candidates who have reached the highest tier of the committee’s recruitment and candidate support program.

The candidates are a diverse group that includes two woman, one of whom is African-American; a man of Portuguese descent; an openly gay man and a Jewish man.

“These candidates have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said in a statement. Full story