Leading Off
• IL-Gov: Both major party candidates go hard negative in their new spots. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn accuses Republican foe Bruce Rauner of defrauding the government. The narrator describes Rauner's company, API, of cheating patients, taking Medicate money for itself, and leaving vulnerable citizens without the support they needed. Quinn has relentlessly portrayed Rauner as a heartless rich guy, but this spot is even more aggressive than usual. It's been a very nasty campaign, but this spot still stands out amidst it all.
Rauner's own spot tries to link Quinn to other Illinois Democratic politicians, including former governor and current jailbird Rod Blagojevich. The narrator argues that Quinn, Blagojevich, state Senate President John Cullerton, and state House Speaker Michael Madigan have spent their combined 100 years in Springfield creating a massive fiscal mess and being generally awful. The spot displays the banner, "100 Years in Springfield," which sounds like a pitch to keep the Simpsons on for another 74 seasons.
Follow below the fold for more.
Senate:
• GA-Sen: Republican David Perdue has two new spots (here and here). The first stars his cousin, former Gov. Sonny Perdue. The second goes after Democratic foe Michelle Nunn on immigration.
• IA-Sen: Planned Parenthood goes after Republican Joni Ernst on abortion.
• KY-Sen: The pro-GOP Kentucky Opportunity Coalition spends almost a million in their latest expenditure.
• MI-Sen: The Environmental Defense Fund spends another $389,000 against Republican Terri Lynn Land.
• MN-Sen: Democratic Sen. Al Franken accuses Republican Mike McFadden of dodging corporate taxes.
• Crossroads: New expenditures in favor of the GOP in AK-Sen, AR-Sen, CO-Sen (here and here), and IA-Sen.
• Freedom Partners: New pro-GOP spots from the Koch-funded group in NC-Sen (here and here) and NH-02, and expenditures in AK-Sen.
• NRA: The NRA has begun its multimillion dollar ad blitz in several Senate and gubernatorial races, all in favor of Team Red. Politico has a rundown of how much is being spent in each contest. We have copies of the spots being used in Senate races in Arkansas, Colorado, and North Carolina.
Gubernatorial:
• AR-Gov: Democrat Mike Ross goes positive on education, featuring his parents.
• CT-Gov: The RGA-backed Grow Connecticut again goes after Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy on the condition of the state's economy.
• FL-Gov: The Republican Party of Florida goes negative once again on Democrat Charlie Crist.
• GA-Gov: Republican Gov. Nathan Deal has a bunch of positive ads (here, here, and here) on the state's economy.
• MD-Gov: Democrat Anthony Brown continues to go negative on Republican Larry Hogan.
• MI-Gov: Mark Schauer stars in the DGA's spot.
House:
• AZ-09: Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema goes positive.
• CA-07: Democratic Rep. Ami Bera contrasts his record with Republican Doug Ose's.
• IA-03: Democrat Staci Appel has a compare-and-contrast ad against Republican David Young.
• FL-18: Okay, this ad from Republican Carl Domino is pretty funny.
• IL-17: Republican Bobby Schilling accuses Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos of cutting veterans' benefits.
• LA-06: Garrett Graves, one of the multitude of Republicans running in the November jungle primary, has a boring introductory ad.
• MN-07: Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson's first general election spot starts out positive.
• NH-01, 02: Americans for Responsible Solutions goes up against Republicans Frank Guinta and Marilinda Garcia.
• NY-23: Democrat Martha Robertson hits Republican Rep. Tom Reed on trade and taxes.
• TX-23: Democratic Rep. Pete Gallego goes positive on veterans' issues.
• DCCC: We have new spots in AZ-01, CA-52, and IA-03. We also have expenditures for various races.
• NRCC: The GOP also has new spots in AZ-02, CA-52, IA-03, and NY-21.