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

AFL-CIO Takes Aim At Bachmann
The AFL-CIO is now going into the race against Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), smelling blood in the water thanks to her McCarthyist rant on Hardball and new poll data showing her narrowly losing to conservative Democrat El Tinklenberg. Here's their new mailer:

"Michele Bachmann helped break the economy," the mailer says sternly. "Working families can't afford another term."

Obama Tapes Ad For Merkley
Barack Obama has taped an ad for Jeff Merkley, the Dem nominee against Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), asking the voters in this blue state to "choose real change" with Merkley:

This is the first ad that Obama has done for a down-ticket candidate during the general election, and was likely done in direct response to Smith's own efforts to tie himself to Obama and other major Dem names like Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

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A new round of SurveyUSA polls, commissioned by Roll Call, suggests that Democrats are poised to sweep those House races this year that are competitive rematches from 2006.

Some of these races are Democratic gains from 2006, in which candidates defeated Republican incumbents or picked up open seats. Some of them were Republican retentions that year, where the incumbents fended off challengers who are trying again this year. In all seven of these case, the Democrats are winning:

• IL-10: Democrat Dan Seals, who lost a race to GOP Rep. Mark Kirk, may be successful in riding Barack Obama's local coattails. The numbers: Seals 52%, Kirk 44%.

• IN-09: Rep. Baron Hill (D) has faced GOPer Mike Sodrel in every race since 2002. Hill narrowly won in 2002, then Sodrel won in 2004, then Hill came back and defeated Sodrel in 2006. The numbers now: Hill 53%, Sodrel 38%.

• NH-01: Freshman Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D) defeated Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley in a huge upset in 2006, and Bradley never really stopped running. The numbers in this poll: Shea-Porter 50%, Bradley 41%.

• NY-29: Democrat Eric Massa, a Navy veteran and former military aide to Wes Clark, narrowly lost to Rep. Randy Kuhl (R) in 2006. The current numbers from SurveyUSA: Massa 51%, Kuhl 44%.

• NC-08: Democrat Larry Kissell lost after a recount in 2006 to Rep. Robin Hayes. The new poll: Kissell 49%, Hayes 41%.

• PA-04: Freshman Rep. Jason Altmire (D) defeated GOP Rep. Melissa Hart in an upset in 2006, and Hart is trying for a comeback. The new poll: Altmire 54%, Hart 42%.

• WI-08: Democratic physician and businessman Steven Kagen picked up this seat for the Democrats in an open-seat race against then-state House Speaker John Gard, in a 51%-49% race. Gard soon started running again. The new poll: Kagen 54%, Gard 43%.

If these numbers hold up through Election Day, it's going to be a long night for the House Republicans.

Here's today's rundown on the Congressional races.

Franken: My Ads Are About Norm Coleman's Record -- So They're Negative
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) debated last night against Al Franken and Independency Party candidate Dean Barkley. Franken got off this zinger when asked what he would do about negative ads that have taken over the race on all sides: "We've been running ads against Norm Coleman's record. So they're negative."

Franken: I'll Keep On Impersonating Wellstone
At a rally over the weekend featuring Al Gore, Al Franken declared that he would not be deterred from doing his goofy impression of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, who would manically shout "You can take this guy!" at his son's track and field meets. The GOP has been using video of Franken impersonating his departed friend and twisting it to look like Franken himself was being crazy and unstable.

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Here's tonight's run-down of the Congressional races: Dems are continuing to hammer the Republicans on the economy, as the GOP faces some more bad poll numbers.

GOP Rep: I Wouldn't Have Picked Palin
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) told the Chicago Tribune, "Quite frankly, I don't know" whether Sarah Palin is qualified to be president. In a very frank admission, Kirk added, "I would have picked someone different." As the Tribune noted, Kirk was initially a vocal supporter of Palin's nomination when it was first announced. (Via Progress Illinois)

Dem Ad: Coleman's Attacks Against Franken Are Ridiculous
The DSCC has this funny ad out, mocking the GOP's attacks against Al Franken:

"Al Franken sank this ship! Crashed these trains! And he hates puppies!" the announcer says. There is one problem, though: This ad is reminiscent of the humorous "Steele hates puppies" ad from the 2006 Maryland Senate race -- and Michael Steele lost by ten points.

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Here's this evening's rundown on the Congressional races: We've got a whole lot of ads running in these campaigns, with the GOP mounting a huge negative offensive in an effort to minimize their losses this November.

New Coleman Ad: Here's How Al Franken Will Attack Me
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has this new ad out, warning voters of the kind of attack ads they'll be seeing from Al Franken, with unflattering pictures of Coleman and scary music:

The odd part here is that Coleman himself is running just the kind of ad against Franken that he decries here, with video and scary music to depict Franken as a foul-mouthed clown.

NRSC Ad Attacks "Boulder Liberal" Udall In Colorado Race
The NRSC is running this attack ad in the Colorado Senate race, where Dem Congressman Mark Udall is running ahead in the polls. The ad repeatedly attacks Udall for being from Boulder, a liberal stronghold of this Western swing state:

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Well, what do you know: We finally found a Republican who's willing to acknowledge that the myth that China is drilling for oil off American shores is, well, a myth.

We previously noted that Rep. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican facing a tight re-election battle this year, made the false claim in June. His offices didn't return our calls.

But the Chicago Tribune asked Kirk's office for clarification, and has now gotten a retraction. "While the Cubans may have issued offshore drilling rights, Congressman Kirk has publicly agreed that the Chinese are not currently drilling for oil near Florida," Kirk's chief of staff told the paper. Score one for reality.

Oh boy. We've now spotted two more Republicans who have continued to push the idea that China is drilling for oil near Florida, even after Dick Cheney retracted the claim and GOP Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida called it an "urban legend."

One is an incumbent Congressman, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and the other is Kieran Michael Lalor, a candidate running against an incumbent Democratic Congressman from New York. They do have something in common: Both are in extremely tough fights, and this is the kind of nationalist talk that can really rile up the party's base, regardless of the facts.

First up is Kirk.

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