Obama goes south — Schatz, Sullivan post new ads — Christie returns to New Hampshire — SCF sends funds to McDaniel legal fund

With Tarini Parti and Manu Raju

FIRST IN SCORE — Blue Dogs name new endorsees: Democrats Nick Casey (WV-02), Patrick Henry Hays (AR-02) and Rocky Lara (NM-02) are picking up endorsements from the Blue Dog coalition, the conservative Democratic group said today. “No one political party has a monopoly on good ideas,” said retiring Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), a member of the coalition, in a statement. “We need more members of Congress who are willing to work across the aisle to get things done.” The group, which endorsed Jennifer Garrison (OH-06), Gwen Graham (FL-02) and James Lee Witt (AR-04) earlier this year, had almost $600,000 on hand at the end of May, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

DAVIS NOT ON OBAMA’S SCHEDULE, CAMPAIGN SAYS: Unlike President Obama’s visit to Texas in April, when he and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Wendy Davis were said to have discussed the Voting Rights Act behind the scenes at a civil-rights summit, Davis’ campaign said she is not attending any of the president’s events in the Lone Star State this week (Obama is slated to attend DNC and DCCC events and give an economy speech, plus meet with local electeds about the border, according to the White House). Instead, Davis will stop in Houston on Wednesday to continue attacking Republican frontrunner Greg Abbott over a chemical-plant controversy that has roiled the race ( http://goo.gl/cjlpcT), said spokeswoman Lauren Weiner. Meanwhile, Abbott himself is headed to Washington for fundraisers, according to the Dallas Morning News. http://goo.gl/SUg63W

— But first, Colorado: That’s where the president will start Wednesday, and as the Denver Post noted earlier, none of the Democrats in the state’s top-tier races — Sen. Mark Udall, Gov. John Hickenlooper or Andrew Romanoff (CO-06) — plans to join him on stage ( http://goo.gl/b83pYs). Hickenlooper did play pool with Obama at a stop Tuesday night at a Denver brewery, however. Photo via NYT’s Doug Mills: http://goo.gl/h2CS31

ONE MONTH TO HAWAII SENATE PRIMARY — Schatz releases new ad: “Brian Schatz is the only new senator chairing two subcommittees,” a man says in a new TV ad for the freshman Democrat, whose primary against Rep. Colleen Hanabusa looms closer. Produced by Dixon/Davis, the spot is running on statewide broadcast and cable this week, said Schatz spokeswoman Meaghan Smith. http://youtu.be/Dzc9GeO7xpw

ALASKA AD WATCH: Republican Dan Sullivan is taking to the airwaves to respond to Democratic attacks on a controversial land proposal that came up during his tenure as state natural resources commissioner. In a new ad, a woman who identifies herself as Elaina Spraker, a hunters’ rights advocate, says, “I trust Dan Sullivan because he has stood up for hunters and our Second Amendment.” The ad is going up today on statewide broadcast and cable, said Sullivan spokesman Mike Anderson. http://youtu.be/wumIqinW404

TODAY ON POLITICO — Christie to New Hampshire, Maggie Haberman reports: “The visit, which Christie will make in his capacity as chairman of the Republican Governors Association, comes as he seeks to move past the spate of negative headlines that have plagued him since January. Christie will be the headliner at the July 31 event, which will benefit the GOP in a state where Republicans hope to defeat Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. The host committee for the event includes state luminaries like Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), former Ambassador Joseph Petrone and Republican donor Beverly Bruce. Christie’s former aide Colin Reed is New Hampshire Senate hopeful Scott Brown’s campaign manager. Reed landed with Christie after Brown’s loss in Massachusetts to current Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.” http://politi.co/1pYU6Pp

As SCF cuts a check to Chris McDaniel, Milton Wolf defends vitamin-hawking and Rob Portman talks 2016, here’s POLITICO’s Morning Score: your daily guide to the 2014 midterms.

Days until the election: 118.

Thanks for joining us. We’re eager for your news and feedback. Email us at [email protected] or find us on Twitter at @emtitus.

** The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) is a national alliance of 250,000 business owners and their employees who offer a range of insurance products. The Big “I” supports legislation to reauthorize TRIA (S. 2244, H.R. 4871) and to streamline agent licensing (S. 534, H.R. 1155). www.independentagent.com **

HELLO, CLEVELAND! POLITICO’s Katie Glueck and Maggie Haberman on the RNC’s 2016 convention pick: “In choosing Cleveland, party organizers opted for a Democratic enclave in the pivotal battleground state of Ohio over the wealthier and more conservative Dallas area for their convention, which officials say could take place in late June or mid-July of 2016. … Some Republican donors privately said Texas, where the Republican Party recently made strong stands in its platform against gay rights and endorsing ‘reparative therapy’ for gays, would send the wrong message at a time when the GOP needs to expand its base. … The announcement is a coup for Cleveland as it seeks to update its image from a crime-ridden, economically struggling Rust Belt city long dubbed the ‘Mistake by the Lake’ to a thriving metropolis with a revitalized downtown.” http://politi.co/1pXfVyN

— “Why the GOP is holding its convention early,” by POLITICO’s Byron Tau: “Two years ago, Mitt Romney raised $1 billion but found himself out of cash that August due to campaign finance laws that essentially force candidates to divide their spending between pre-and-post convention accounts. Moving the convention up, the GOP reasons, will help make those rules a non-issue. … But it’s not a cost-free choice. A convention earlier in the year could mean the public isn’t fully engaged in the presidential race and voters aren’t paying attention, former Obama campaign manager and White House adviser David Plouffe tweeted, calling the GOP’s decision ‘Reince’s Folly.’” http://politi.co/1kBj27K

FROM OUR NOTEBOOKS — CLUB MAKES SIX-FIGURE BUY VS. ELLIS IN MI-03: Club for Growth is spending another $180,000 on TV and radio ads opposing Brian Ellis, who is challenging Rep. Justin Amash in the GOP primary in Michigan’s 3rd District, according to reports filed with the FEC Tuesday. The group has spent a total of about $375,000 so far on the race. The latest round of spending — about a month before the Aug. 5 primary — will put the TV and radio ads ( http://bit.ly/1n52YLe, http://bit.ly/1kBc6qY) Club for Growth released earlier this year opposing Ellis back on the airwaves.

MISSISSIPPI WATCH — “Cochran calls McDaniel out over county-by-county review,” by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger’s Sam R. Hall: “The Thad Cochran campaign is releasing numbers of questionably cast ballots in an attempt to force the hand of the Chris McDaniel campaign to cough up their own specific county-by-county numbers. … [I]t’s hard to mathematically find where McDaniel would build up enough irregularly cast votes to convince a judge that there were enough contestable votes to either a) make a difference in the outcome of the election or b) prove widespread voter fraud or systematic problems with the way the election was conducted. … All of this is to say that McDaniel’s campaign needs to start making an actual fact-based campaign of accusations if he is going to move forward with his challenge.” http://goo.gl/un3Gst

— “Cochran camp says it ‘screwed up’ cash accounting,” by the Clarion-Ledger’s Geoff Pender: “Facing allegations of vote buying and a challenge to a GOP primary runoff win, the Thad Cochran campaign on Tuesday said it made a mistake with its accounting of nearly $53,000 in get-out-the-vote cash and will have to amend its reporting to the Federal Election Commission.” http://goo.gl/PNTqTV

— “The Senate Conservatives Fund sent $70,000 to McDaniel to challenge Mississippi runoff election results,” by Yahoo News’ Chris Moody: “The SCF, a group that supports conservative congressional candidates, launched a fundraising drive over the weekend to help his legal challenge and wired a majority of the funds Tuesday, SCF’s new president, Ken Cuccinnelli [ sic], told Yahoo News. The group, which originally said it had no plans to participate in a challenge, has raised more than $90,000 in the past few days and plans to send the rest of the money early next week. During the campaign, the group spent $1.3 million in support of McDaniel, fueling a heated battle between the tea party and official party groups aligned with Cochran.” http://goo.gl/fxMqo0

QUICK HITS ACROSS THE MAP —

CO-Sen: The Koch-linked Freedom Partners group reportedly has reserved airtime to advertise against Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and is also booking airtime in Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Arkansas and Michigan. http://goo.gl/N4tGWN

KY-Sen: The Associated Press found that Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes’ new Medicare ad, the first negative ad of her campaign, mischaracterized Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s voting record. http://goo.gl/ENLwfc

More KY-Sen: Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC is returning to the airwaves with a $550,000 buy set to run for two weeks statewide. http://politi.co/1tmS11b

NH-01, -02: A new WMUR Granite State poll, conducted by UNH Survey Center, shows former GOP Rep. Frank Guinta and Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter neck-and-neck in NH-01, while Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster leads Republicans Gary Lambert and Marilinda Garcia in NH-02. http://goo.gl/NasjOA

GA-Gov: Democrat Jason Carter raised $2 million in the second quarter, besting GOP Gov. Nathan Deal, who raised $1.2 million. Deal has $2.6 million on hand to Carter’s $1.8 million. http://goo.gl/3GXvUX

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This is an opportunity for people to either make a statement or to truly vote for me — either one.” — New York GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino on his new “Stop Common Core” ballot line. http://goo.gl/uKUbST

** Unlike company-employed insurance agents, members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) represent more than one insurance company, so they can offer clients a wider choice of auto, home, business, life and health coverages as well as retirement and employee benefit products. In addition to having a presence and representing consumers on every main street, independent agents are very politically active at the local, state and national levels. Each spring, approximately 1,000 agents visit Washington, D.C. to meet with their elected officials, and thousands more support their $2 million federal political action committee (InsurPac), making it the largest property-casualty PAC in the nation. To learn more, visitwww.independentagent.com. **