Here's tonight's run-down on the Congressional races: The Dems are leveraging their big financial advantage over the GOP into an extensive round of attack ads against the Republicans, in order to pick up some usually-tough seats this November.

National Dems Launch New Wave Of Attack Ads In House Races
The DCCC has launched a major TV attack ad offensive in districts across the country, some of them defending Dem-held seats but others running in GOP-held areas that are traditionally very difficult for the Dems. Ads will be running in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Here's one of the ads, running in a deep-red New Mexico district:

New York GOP Trying To Dump Candidate For Key House Seat
The race for the open seat of scandal-plagued Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) just keeps getting weirder, with Manhattan Republicans now nominating unpopular GOP nominee Bob Straniere for an open judgeship as a means of getting him to drop out of the race -- but Straniere is refusing. National Republicans feel that their chances of holding the seat could potentially improve if they can substitute Fossella himself as the new candidate, but they're not optimistic that it will actually happen.

Dem Ad: Ted Stevens Has Made History -- With His Indictment
The DSCC has this new ad in the Alaska Senate race, "honoring" Sen. Ted Stevens' (R) dubious accomplishment of being only the 11th sitting Senator in history be indicted:

This deep-red state hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1974, and the Dems' job has been all the more difficult by the nomination of favorite daughter Sarah Palin for vice president. But Stevens' ethical cloud could just deliver this Senate seat into the blue column.

Poll: McConnell Only Ahead Of Dem Opponent By Narrow Margin
A new SurveyUSA poll of Kentucky shows Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell leading businessman Bruce Lunsford (D) by only a 49%-46% margin, compared to a 50%-38% lead just six weeks ago. This is still an uphill climb at best for the Democrats, especially in light of the same poll showing that John McCain has a 57%-38% lead over Barack Obama.

Poll: Dems Above 50% On Congressional Ballot
A new CNN poll shows Democrats with a 56%-42% lead on the generic Congressional ballot, compared to only a three-point lead from the poll taken right after the GOP convention. The Republican bounce seems to have faded, but this is not to say anyone truly likes the Dems -- the same poll shows only 22% approve of how Congress is handling its job.

Another Poll Gives Udall The Lead In Colorado Senate Race
The new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) puts Democrat Mark Udall ahead of Republican Bob Schaffer for the GOP-held Colorado Senate seat by a margin of 48%-40%, identical to the Quinnipiac poll released this morning. It's looking increasingly difficult for the GOP to hold on to this seat.

Florida Candidates Argue About Their Voter Registrations -- Horse Barn Vs. Dog Track
Now this is funny. Republicans have been questioning Rep. Tim Mahoney of (D-FL) for using a horse barn as his voting address, but Dems are firing right back -- it turns out his GOP opponent Tom Rooney was previously registered to vote for several years at a dog track owned by his family.

GOP Ad Uses Audio Of Stuttering Dem
The GOP has their own attack ads, too. Check out this genuinely funny one in the Mississippi Senate race, using audio of a very befuddled Ronnie Musgrove, the Dem candidate, making his way through an interview:

"Ronnie Musgrove," the announcer says. "He's either really confused -- or he wants us to be."