GOP Takes Out Big Loan For Home Stretch
The RNC has taken out a $5 million loan in the home stretch of the campaign to give to the NRSC and Senate candidates, joining other party committees that have made the same decision in order to maximize gains -- or in this case, minimize losses -- on Election Day. The party's big challenge will be to avoid a nine-seat loss that would give the Dems a filibuster-proof majority, but even a Dem majority that came close to that would be highly damaging for the GOP.

Right-Wing Celebrities (Sort Of) To Minnesota: We Apologize For Franken
The new NRSC ad against Al Franken features a rather novel gimmick in their attempt to paint Franken as an untouchable Hollywood celebrity. In this ad, right-wing Hollywood B-listers apologize to Minnesota for the way Franken has given their profession a bad name:

Was Dennis Miller not available? In all seriousness, Franken has by now overcome some of the problems from his goofy comedy image that dogged his campaign for quite a while. If the GOP is to defeat him now that he's taken a narrow lead in most polls, they'll need to win Minnesotans over on substantive issues. Oh, wait a minute...

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Here's today's run-down of the Congressional races:

GOP Releases Excerpt From The Kentucky Voice Recorder
The Kentucky voice-recorder saga -- involving a criminal complaint by the NRSC that the campaign of Dem Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford allegedly erased content from a voice recorder they secretly planted at his podium -- just keeps getting weirder. The NRSC has released this piece of audio recovered from the recorder after its return, of what appears to be an angry Lunsford telling his staffers not to give the recorder back:

This has got to be one of the most bizarre allegations of a dirty trick ever: That a campaign secretly planted a bug on an opposing candidate, then complained when the bug was not initially returned and may have been erased.

Murtha's Opponent Blasts Him On Racist/Redneck Comments
Check out this new ad from William Russell, the GOP candidate against Jack Murtha, hammering Murtha for referring to his western Pennsylvania constituents as rednecks and racists:

Murtha is usually a safe bet for re-election, but this gaffe may have landed him in serious trouble. A recent Susquehanna poll shows Murtha just edging out Russell 46%-41%. A fun part of this ad is its use of a computer interface to show videos of Murtha -- as if to say that the people of western Pennsylvania do in fact know how to read and use a computer.

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New GOP Ad: Al Franken "Writes Pornography," "Laughs At The Disabled"
The NRSC, facing more poll data showing Al Franken taking the lead in Minnesota, is pulling out all the stops with their new ad against Franken's dirty humor:

Both the NRSC and the Coleman campaign have been attacking Franken's toilet-humor for months now, but Franken has nevertheless managed to take the lead in most of the recent polls. This increase in the intensity of the attack does come off as desperate, if it's meant to be a real closing argument against Franken and the Democrats.

Coleman Ad: I Work Really Hard For You!
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), who is trying to keep it positive in his own new ads, has this new one-minute ad in which the incumbent seems to be begging Minnesotans to realize how hard he works for them:

"In times as thought as this, it's really easy to kind of be on the sidelines and cast stones, and say, you know 'This is the problem and that's the problem," Coleman says. "I think people know we've got problems, but I think what they're looking for is solutions."

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Here's tonight's run-down on the Congressional races: The GOP may be panicking in the face of more poll numbers showing serious losses from the economic crisis, with a new round of nasty attack ads against the Dem candidates.

Another Poll Shows GOP Sen. Dole Losing Re-Election
The new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) shows Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) trailing her Dem opponent Kay Hagan by a 46%-38% margin. PPP has tended to be the most favorable for Hagan, but even this lead is the widest one they've registered yet -- and on top of that, they've received corroboration from Rasmussen polls showing a narrow Hagan lead.

GOP Ad: Dem Challenger Is So Irresponsible, She Should Be On Wall St.
The NRSC is trying to make the economic crisis work for them in an odd place: The North Carolina Senate race, where economic anxiety has put incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) behind Dem challenger Kay Hagan in the polls:

"Balanced? That's a hoax -- Hagan just borrowed the money," the announcer says. "Maybe Hagan should skip Washington -- and go straight to Wall St."

One is reminded of a line from the fictionalized Pappy O'Daniel in O Brother, Where Art Thou?: "How we gonna run reform when we're the damn incumbent?"

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Two Republican Congressman from Florida, brothers Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart, could both be in serious fights to hold on to their districts, according to new polling.

The polling from Bendixen and Associates, a Florida-based firm that specializes in surveying areas with large percentages of Spanish-speakers, finds Lincoln ahead of Democratic candidate Raul Martinez by a 41%-37% margin, within the ±5% margin of error. Mario leads Dem candidate Joe Garcia by 44%-39%, also with a ±5% margin of error.

Both brothers have had pretty easy rides to re-election during their time in Congress, but this year might just be different.