Here are some interesting stories on the midterm campaigns that you may have missed on Tuesday, October 7:
• As Republican Senate nominee Terri Lynn Land falls further behind in Michigan, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is pulling the plug on its planned TV ad spending in the final two weeks of the campaign. The move, which will allow the NRSC to invest in more competitive races, is a tacit acknowledgement that Land no longer has a path to victory over Democrat Gary Peters.
• In Minnesota, another state where Republicans hoped to expand the Senate map, Senator Al Franken (D) has opened up an 18-point lead over GOP challenger Mike McFadden, according to a new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. Franken now leads by 11.5 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average, and appears to have re-election in the bag.
• Mayday PAC, the SuperPAC that hopes to limit the influence of money in politics, will spend $1 million over the next four weeks on behalf of South Dakota Senate candidate Rick Weiland (D). Two recent surveys have suggested that the race is getting tighter, although Republican Mike Rounds still leads comfortably in the poll average.
• According to three new polls, Florida Democrat Charlie Crist holds a narrow lead in his race against incumbent Republican governor Rick Scott. Crist is ahead by just 1.4 percent in the poll average.
• And this won’t help Senator Mark Pryor’s re-election campaign: The embattled Arkansas Democrat stumbled badly after being asked about the Obama administration’s response to the Ebola crisis. He has previously run ads attacking his opponent on the issue. Pryor trails by 3.7 percent in the poll average.
Photo: Jimmy Emerson, DVM via Flickr
Want more political news and analysis? Sign up for our daily email newsletter!
