Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The new national Quinnipiac poll is likely to cause some heartburn in Republican circles: it shows Democrats expanding their lead over the GOP on the generic congressional ballot to 14 points, 52% to 38%. That’s up from a nine-point Democratic advantage in the same poll last month.
* The results of the new NPR/Marist poll aren’t much better for Republicans: it shows Dems ahead on the generic ballot by 12 points, 50% to 38%. In July, the same poll found Democrats ahead by seven points.
* The NPR/Marist poll also found Donald Trump with a 39% approval rating. It’s the third, independent national poll released this week that shows the president’s support below 40%.
* New Hampshire held its primaries yesterday, and initial estimates suggest Democrats broke the record for voter turnout in a midterm cycle.
* On a related note, only two states remain in the primary season, and Rhode Island’s contests are today. The race to keep an eye on is Gov. Gina Raimondo (D), who’s facing a primary challenge from Matt Brown, a former Rhode Island secretary of state.
* In Florida’s gubernatorial race, a SurveyUSA poll for Spectrum News found Andrew Gillum (D) with a modest lead over Ron DeSantis (R), 47% to 43%. * In Nevada, a Suffolk University/Reno Gazette Journal poll released yesterday found Rep. Jacky Rosen (D) effectively tied with incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R), with the Democrat ahead in the poll by a fraction of a percentage point. The same poll showed Heller narrowly ahead a couple of months ago. * On a related note, the Suffolk/Gazette Journal poll also found Steve Sisolak with a two-point lead over Adam Laxalt (R) in Nevada’s gubernatorial race. In July, Laxalt, the incumbent state attorney general, led by one point. * And with control of his chamber in play, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) yesterday described this year’s midterms as “very challenging,” comparing each competitive contest to “a knife fight in an alley.”
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
