Romney Spent More In Second Quarter Than He Raised
Final fundraising and spending reports for the Republican candidates show Mitt Romney far outpacing the competition in the amount of money he's spent. Operating expenditures totaled $20.4 million, versus only $14 million raised. Romney made up the difference by giving $6.5 million from his personal fortune, in the form of a loan. Romney has had to spend more money than big names like Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, in order to raise his national profile. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani took in $15 million for the primary, and spent $11 million, leaving him with $14.6 million on hand for the primary.

Edwards Campaign Explains Opposing Ex-Con Voting Bill In 2002, Supporting It Now
John Edwards supported restoring voting rights for ex-convicts at a NAACP forum yesterday, but the former Senator voted against an amendment that would have done just that in 2002. An Edwards spokesman said voting against the amendment was designed to ensure the passage of the existing provisions of the voting rights bill.

Vitter To Return To Senate Next Week
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), now hiding in an undisclosed location with his family after announcing Monday night that he was a patron of the infamous D.C. Madam, will return to the Capitol next Tuesday for roll call votes on Iraq after missing two this week, according to Senate colleague Jim DeMint (R-SC) who has been exchanging e-mails with Vitter. "Obviously he has a lot of remorse," DeMint said. "He seems to want to address it head on and not try to hide it."

ABC News: McCain The Next Comeback Kid?
Steve Benen has a nice catch: With John McCain losing staff, nearly broke, and plummeting in polls, the tough-minded journalists at ABC News are already asking in a headline to the Note whether he's going to be the "next Comeback Kid."

Iraq Amendment By GOP Senators Warner And Lugar Is A Sham
And it won't do anything to force the President's hand on Iraq. We make the case here.

Edwards: Trade Degrading Rural America
John Edwards told an Iowa crowd that trade policies have damaged rural America, and better planning of trade deals is needed to salvage the situation. "We've all seen what's happening," Edwards said. "Young people leave smaller towns and communities, and they don't come back. It's harder and harder to find good jobs, harder and harder to attract good teachers ... harder and harder to get access to good health care."

Clinton Condemns Blackstone Loophole, Promises Tax Reform
Hillary Clinton called a tax loophole that allows private equity and hedge fund managers to pay a low capital gains rate on high profits a "glaring inequity"and joined two of her rivals for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama and John Edwards, in calling for passage of a bill on the subject now before Congress. "As president I will reform our tax code to ensure that the carried interest earned by some multimillionaire Wall Street managers is recognized for what it is: ordinary income that should be taxed at ordinary income tax rates," Clinton said.

In A Blow To Romney, Massachusetts GOP Drops Winner-Take-All Primary
The Massachusetts Republican State Committee changed a policy that commits all of their delegates to the winner of the primary. The move is seen as a loss for backers of Mitt Romney because he expected to win the state where he recently served as governor. "If Mitt Romney loses the primary next March in Massachusetts — which could happen — under the system that his supporters wanted, he would walk away with nothing," said committee member Stephen Zykofsky — a sign of just how hostile toward the former governor some state GOPers are. "At least with the system that I've proposed, he would salvage some delegates," added Zykofsky, who supports Rudy Giuliani.

Collins Raised $1.3 Million In Q2, $2.3 Million On Hand
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) raised $200,000 more that her Democratic challenger last quarter, bringing in $1.3 million to Congressman Tom Allen's $1.1 million. Collins has a significant overall advantage thus far, with $2.3 million cash on hand to Allen's $1.7 million. Collins is facing extreme pressure over her pro-war position, an issue that Collins' fellow Maine Republican Olympia Snowe announced she was reconsidering earlier this week.

Prosecutor To Run Against GOP Rep. Jon Porter
Roll Call reports that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has recruited a candidate to oppose three-term Congressman Jon Porter (R-NV). Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas has agreed to file as a candidate by the end of the summer or possibly sooner, once he completes a final stage of vetting with the DCCC. Porter was re-elected by a 48%-47% margin in 2006.