Leading Off:
• KS-03: Well, this may be the ad of the year. Former Democratic state Sen. Kelly Kultala is taking on Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder in this Kansas City-area seat, and taking advantage of an incident Yoder hoped voters would forget.
Back in 2012 Yoder made news for swimming naked in the Sea of Galilee, an area that many Christians consider to be holy. Since Democrats didn't challenge Yoder that year he didn't have any problem winning re-election, but Kultala is hoping this time around will be different. Her spot references Yoder's adventure while featuring a pool full of naked people criticizing his voting record. (All the actors' private parts are blurred out, so this spot is in fact safe for work.)
Until now, this race hasn't been getting much attention. Romney won this seat 54-44, making it the most Democratic district in the state. With Yoder's fellow Republicans, Gov. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts, in real danger of losing re-election, this seat could very well be worth keeping an eye on. However, while Kultala is a credible candidate, she has struggled to raise money, and neither party has spent much here. We'll see if this kind of spot can help her get on the radar.
Senate:
• AK-Sen: Crossroads GPS continues a recent Republican campaign to go after Democratic Sen. Mark Begich's tenure as mayor of Anchorage. Like previous pro-GOP ads, they accuse Begich of covering up how bad the city's finances were, and then leaving for Washington as things went south.
Meanwhile, while Begich couldn't get the endorsement of the NRA, he does have the NAR helping him. The National Association of Realtors spends another $611,000 on his behalf: As we've noted in the past, the NAR is one of the very few organizations that spends big for both parties.
• CO-Sen: Republican Cory Gardner hits Democratic Sen. Mark Udall's energy record.
• GA-Sen: The pro-Democratic group Georgians Together hits Republican David Perdue on wage discrimination.
Also for Team Blue, Democrat Michelle Nunn directly pushes back on a Perdue ad that tied her to terrorism, calling it shameful and a lie.
• IA-Sen: The DSCC ties Republican Joni Ernst to unpopular special interests.
• KS-Sen: The National Rifle Association has reserved $100,000 to help Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, and this is one group that's definitely capable of spending a lot more if need be. The American Chemistry Council also forks over $165,000 to aid Roberts.
• KY-Sen: Crossroads GPS spends another $163,000 for the GOP, while We Are Kentucky spends $100,000 for the Democrats.
• MI-Sen: The vaguely named B-Pac spends $290,000 against Democrat Gary Peters.
• NC-Sen: The DSCC continues to hit Republican Thom Tillis on Medicare cuts.
• VA-Sen: Virginia Progress resumes their offensive against Republican Ed Gillespie, spending $390,000 here.
• John Bolton SuperPAC: As he once again quietly flirts with the idea of running for president, former UN Ambassador John Bolton's group has new expenditures for GOP candidates in the Senate races in Arkansas, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
• NRA: Various pro-GOP expenditures.
• NRSC: Various pro-GOP expenditures.
• Senate Majority PAC: Various pro-Democratic expenditures.
Gubernatorial:
• CT-Gov: Connecticut Forward continues to portray Republican Tom Foley as a heartless rich guy.
• GA-Gov: Democrat Jason Carter hits Republican Gov. Nathan Deal over the state of the economy.
• MA-Gov: Republican Charlie Baker continues to stress his moderate credentials.
• MD-Gov: Republican Larry Hogan's spot features his daughter pushing back on Democratic ads portraying him as anti-women.
• MI-Gov: Republican Gov. Rick Snyder pushes back on Democratic ads accusing him of cutting education.
House:
• CA-31: The Credit Union National Association spends $150,000 for Democrat Pete Aguilar.
• CA-52: Republican Carl DeMaio portrays himself as a consensus builder while accusing Democratic Rep. Scott Peters of being slippery. The DCCC also goes negative, hitting DeMaio on student loans.
• FL-02: The Environmental Defense Action Fund spends $137,000 against Republican Rep. Steve Southerland.
• FL-26: The NRCC has just reserved another $1.2 million here, bringing their total spending to $2.6 million for this Miami-area seat. The groups' new ad hits Democratic Rep. Joe Garcia over a corruption scandal that ensnared his chief-of-staff. Republican Carlos Curbelo also narrates a Spanish-language spot.
• GA-12: The NRCC continues to link Democratic Rep. John Barrow to national Democrats.
• NY-21: New York 2014 spends $110,000 against Democrat Aaron Woolf. Perhaps more interestingly, the name "New York 2014" was actually available for this group to use.
• NY-23: Democrat Martha Robertson hits Republican Rep. Tom Reed on Medicare and Social Security.
• House Majority PAC: Various pro-Democratic expenditures.