Leading Off:
• MA-06: Democratic Rep. John Tierney is the last congressional incumbent who is in serious danger of losing a primary. With the Sept. 9 Democratic primary almost here, both Tierney and primary foe Seth Moulton have begun the long-awaited task of nuking one another.
Tierney ties Moulton to national Republicans, arguing that he's receiving special interest money from groups that only back Republicans. The group in question is White Mountain PAC, run by former New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg. The Boston Globe describes what happened: In September of last year the group donated $1,000 to Moulton; in February, Moulton returned the donation. Moulton's spot throws the kitchen sink at Tierney, portraying him as an unethical do-nothing congressman. Moulton then touts his endorsement from the Boston Globe.
Senate:
• AR-Sen: Crossroads GPS goes after Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor on Obamacare. I know, who could have seen that coming? The NRSC also attacks Pryor as a creature of Washington. On the Democratic side, Senate Majority PAC goes after Republican Rep. Tom Cotton for wanting to raise the eligibility age for Medicare and Social Security.
• CO-Sen: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hits Democratic Sen. Mark Udall on energy costs, which isn't a common theme in ads this year.
• IA-Sen: We've noted that Democratic attacks on Republican Joni Ernst have recently been getting more focused, and Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley continues that trend. His spot features Iowa seniors criticizing Ernst over Medicare and Social Security privatization.
• KS-Sen: Well-funded independent Greg Orman stresses how bi-partisan and different from the current political leadership he is. Basically, Orman does what basically every independent that can afford TV time does.
• MI-Sen: The League of Conservation Voters once again ties Republican Terri Lynn Land to the Koch brothers, again blaming them for polluting the state. NextGen Climate goes with a very similar theme.
• NC-Sen: Democrat Kay Hagan has a bunch of new spots hitting Republican Thom Tillis. On the other side of the aisle, the NRSC goes after Hagan and mainly attacks her past service in the state Senate, which is a bit unusual. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also portrays Tillis as the fiscally responsible candidate in the race.
• OR-Sen: Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkely once again ties Republican foe Monica Wehby to the Koch brothers. Wehby has her own spot decrying policies that hurt state jobs, and calling for replacing Obamacare.
Gubernatorial:
• CT-Gov: Republican Tom Foley plays up his business experience. The RGA front-group Grow Connecticut also hits Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy on taxes.
• FL-Gov: Republican Gov. Rick Scott continues to argue that the state economy is doing far better under him than it was under Democrat Charlie Crist.
• GA-Gov: Republican Gov. Nate Deal cites the state's job growth under his watch.
• IL-Gov: Republican Bruce Rauner hits Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn in state property taxes.
• KS-Gov: Republican Gov. Sam Brownback goes positive and touts jobs.
• MA-Gov: Democratic Treasurer Steve Grossman takes advantage of his recent endorsement from the Boston Globe. The spot features several snippets of the Globe's endorsement in the Sept. 9 primary.
• MD-Gov: Democrat Anthony Brown continues to nuke Republican Larry Hogan before he can respond, running a compare-and-contrast ad on universal pre-kindergarden.
• MI-Gov: The DGA goes after Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for education cuts.
• PA-Gov: Democrat Tom Wolf's spot portrays him as a generous businessman.
• RI-Gov: With less than a week to go before the Sept. 9 Democratic primary, Clay Pell once again focuses on education. Pell mentions how his grandfather the late Sen. Claiborne Pell helped create Pell Grants: I believe this is the first time Pell has invoked his famous grandfather in an ad.
House:
• AR-02: Democrat Patrick Henry Hays once again talks about how North Little Rock created jobs while he was mayor.
• AZ-01: The DCCC hits Republican Andy Tobin on education cuts.
• AZ-02: Democratic Rep. Ron Barber gets some help from his predecessor and former boss Gabrielle Giffords. Her group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, attacks Republican Martha McSally for supporting a loophole to get around a background check for gun purchases. There haven't been many (or maybe any) pro-gun control ads in any general election contests this cycle, and it will be interesting to see if anyone else runs of this theme.
• FL-02: House Majority PAC hits Republican Rep. Steve Southerland, arguing his votes hurt North Florida. The size of the buy is $104,000. Democrat Gwen Graham also goes after Southerland for voting against the Violence Against Women Act after saying he voted for it. Like many Republicans, Southerland voted for a watered down version of the law, while voting against the bill that became law.
• GA-12: The DCCC hits Republican Rick Allen for taking millions in taxpayer dollars for his company.
• IA-03: Democrat Staci Appel portrays herself as a problem solver.
• IL-12: Republican Mike Bost is out with his first spot, with his wife talking up his biography.
• IL-13: Republican Rep. Rodney Davis' spot stars his daughter, who talks college affordability.
• NY-23: Democrat Martha Robertson stresses her record, while hitting Republican Rep. Tom Reed for favoring tax breaks for the wealthy.
• WV-03: Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall's latest spot features a miner and his wife accusing Republican rival Evan Jenkins of siding with billionaires who oppose mine safety.