At the Races: Supreme politics

And the award goes to: Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler has our vote for the most bizarre political ads so far this cycle, with two spots asserting she is more conservative than Attila the Hun. The ads feature a grunting actor in period costume who appears to order an attack on China, the elimination of “liberal scribes” and the persecution of various offenders of conservative values. But, in our opinion, Loeffler’s ad falls short of Carly Fiorina’s 2010 “Demon Sheep” spot in the ranking of weirdest ads of all time. 

Let the triaging begin: It’s getting to be that time of year when outside groups start to triage — move money from races that are no longer Toss-ups. According to the firm Medium Buying, the DCCC pulled money out of Maine; Scranton, Pennsylvania; and Detroit. The Texas Tribune reported that the NRCC was canceling its buy in Houston. Politico reported that the DCCC was moving money to Colorado’s 3rd District, Michigan’s 3rd and Texas’ 23rd, while the GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund has launched a new ad campaign in Wisconsin’s 3rd District. 

United in fundraising: EMILY’s List, which raises money for female Democrats who support abortion rights, and BlackPAC, which works to mobilize Black voters, said this week they were creating a $1.5 million joint fundraising agreement. The effort will target the races of Democratic incumbents such as Reps. Lucy McBath in Georgia’s 6th District and Lauren Underwood in Illinois’ 14th, among others, as well as Democratic challengers, including Joyce Elliott, who is running against GOP Rep. French Hill in Arkansas’ 2nd, and Pat Timmons-Goodson, who is challenging GOP Rep. Richard Hudson in North Carolina’s newly drawn 8th District.

It’s in the mail: In an ominous sign for November’s elections, Florida rejected more than 35,0000 mailed-in ballots in the state’s August primary because they didn’t meet signature requirements or arrived too late. The rejections accounted for 1.5 percent of the total vote, Politico reported. Similar rejection rates could be a big problem in November, when the state is expected to be crucial to the presidential race. So far, more Democrats have requested to vote by mail than Republicans. 

Voting early and in person: Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who is challenging GOP Rep. Rodney Davis in Illinois’ 13th District, took advantage of her state’s early, in-person voting, which kicked off Thursday. She and her family turned out this morning at the Sangamon County Election Office, according to her campaign. Davis’ campaign told ATR the Republican also plans to vote early in Taylorville, as he normally does, but the precise date depends on the House calendar.