Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In CNN’s latest national poll, Democrats lead Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by 11 points, 52% to 41%. The Democratic advantage has grown a bit since CNN’s poll in June, when Dems had an eight-point lead.
* The latest Quinnipiac poll, meanwhile, shows Dems on the generic ballot by nine points, 51% to 42%. That’s down a little from the Quinnipiac poll in July, which showed the party ahead by 12 points.
* With just two weeks remaining before Arizona’s Republican Senate primary, Rep. Martha McSally (R) has launched her first attack ad targeting former state Sen. Kelli Ward. In a sign of the times, the congresswoman argues in the spot that Ward, a far-right firebrand, isn’t reliably conservative enough.
* If you’ve missed former White House strategist Steve Bannon, I have good news: he’s back with a new group, called Citizens of the American Republic, which will work to help Republicans in the 2018 midterms.
* In Missouri’s U.S. Senate race, Josh Hawley (R) slammed Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) this morning for “hiding out” in Washington, D.C. For the record, the Senate is in session, which means McCaskill just went to work. * Rolling Stone had an interesting report yesterday on alleged cyberattacks targeting a former rival to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), generally recognized as the Kremlin’s favorite congressman. * And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) caused a bit of a stir yesterday with a new Wall Street Journal op-ed in support of her new Accountable Capitalism Act, which would create a series of corporate reforms. Let the conservative freak-out commence.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
