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

GOP Ad: "We Know John Murtha Doesn't Respect Us"
Here's the NRCC's new ad against Jack Murtha, replaying the video of Murtha calling his constituents racists and rednecks:

The latest polls show the once-safe Murtha now locked in a tight race with his unknown GOP opponent. If Murtha loses, this will end up being remembered as the Democratic version of a "Macaca Moment."

Dem Ad: Bachmann's Claims About Financial Regulation Are Literally Laughable
The DCCC has this new ad against the notorious Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), featuring video of her getting laughed at by a debate audience when she said the financial crisis was caused by too much regulation of Wall St.:

Bachmann was well on track for victory before her McCarthyist rant on Hardball, but the DCCC really smells blood in the water -- the latest FEC filings showed them buying up over half a million dollars in advertising against her.

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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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From the presidential campaign to the lowliest down-ticket races, Republicans are throwing around a new attack line on Dems: That things may be bad now, but the Dems would only "make things worse."

This line came up in the RNC's infamous ad against Barack Obama from two weeks ago, which was mainly known for trashing the Wall St. bailout just as John McCain was trying to promote it:

"Barack Obama's plan: It'll make the problem worse," the announcer says.

More ads, and some analysis, after the jump.

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

Coleman Ad: I'm For Hope
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has this new ad in which he talks about how he's taken his negative ads down, and he believes in hope:

It should be noted that the NRSC is still continuing to run attack ads against Al Franken, thus allowing the negativity to continue while keeping Coleman's hands nominally clean. And he seems to acknowledge this, too: "I can't control every ad out there, but I'm proud to approve this one."

Dem Ad: Don Young Is Doling Out Pork For Other People
Check out this new DCCC ad against Don Young, which goes into the federal investigations against him and the suspicious circumstances surrounding earmarks like the Coconut Road in Florida. But the real message here is that Don Young is using his pork-granting superpowers to benefit other states:

"So what's Alaska getting?" the announcer says. "According to one non-partisan watchdog, one of America's most corrupt members of Congress."

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Here's tonight's rundown on Congressional races: Republicans across the country are getting desperate in the face of some very stiff Dem challenges -- so they're accusing their opponents of various kinds of personal sleaze.

GOP Congressman's Campaign Attacks Dem For Thinking About Masturbation Thirty Years Ago
Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) is stepping up his social-conservative attacks on Dem challenger Kay Barnes, circulating to reporters an article that Barnes wrote back in the 1970s on the subject of sexuality and masturbation. A spokesman for the Barnes campaign told Roll Call that Graves is "fixated on sex" and that voters have better things to worry about.

GOP Candidate's Ad: My Opponent Supports Hanging Soldiers In Effigy
Tom McClintock, the GOP nominee for the open seat of scandal-plagued Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), has premiered this new ad attacking Democrat Charlie Brown, an Air Force veteran, for attending an anti-war rally in 2005:

"Charlie Brown stood with anti-war radicals when a soldier was hung in effigy," says the woman in the ad, the mother of a Marine. "That's no way to support our troops."

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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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Report: Hillary's Biggest VP Impediment Is Bill
Jill Iscol, a donor to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, told the Los Angeles Times that Barack Obama personally told her that Hillary Clinton was under consideration for vice president, but Bill Clinton's presence makes things "complicated." He said once you're a president, even if you're a former president, you're always a president," Iscol said.

Report: Hagel, Reed To Join Obama For Iraq Trip
Multiple news outlets have now reported that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska conservative who has turned vocally against the Iraq War, will be accompanying Barack Obama on his upcoming trip to Iraq. Also along for the trip will be Sen. Jack Reed, a Dem point man on foreign policy, but Hagel's presence is far more interesting -- might he become a mirror image of Joe Liebemran, crossing party lines to support the Dem for president?

Both Nominees Taking The Day Off
Both presidential candidates are taking the day off today. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain have any public events scheduled.

Sebelius Not Denying VP Talk
In an interview with CQ, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius said that was not ever vetted for the vice presidency by John Kerry's team in 2004 -- but did not make the same statement about the Obama campaign this year. "Any discussion about this process is being done by the campaign itself," Sebelius said.

German Pol: Obama Shouldn't Speak At Brandenburg Gate
The leader of Bavaria's conservative party says Barack Obama shouldn't speak at the Brandenburg Gate, and accused the leftist foreign minister of pandering to the candidate. "Obama didn't do anything for German unification," Erwin Huber told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "That's not a criticism, but as a result there is no reason to grant him such a privilege."

Poll: Obama Leads In Missouri
A new Research 2000 poll in Missouri gives Barack Obama a 48%-43% lead in this swing state, with a ±3.5% margin of error. Most recent polls have given McCain the lead here, but the pollster's analysis in this case indicates that economic insecurity is increasingly driving voters into the Democratic column.

Possible Spoiler Candidate Files In Louisiana District
Some bad news for House Dems: Louisiana state Sen. Michael Jackson, who lost the special election Democratic primary to Rep. Don Cazayoux in a conservative district this spring, has filed to run in November as an independent. Jackson could potentially pick up African-American voters who might otherwise go for Cazayoux, thus splitting the vote in favor of the Republican in a district that Democrats just picked up.

They just can't seem to get enough of this one. It looks like another Republican is still pushing the idea that China is drilling for oil in deep ocean waters near Cuba -- Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri is continuing to push it even after big-name Republicans like GOP Sen. Mel Martinez and even Dick Cheney have disavowed it, and his staff is refusing to offer any retraction of his statement.

The Missouri Democrats are sending around this YouTube of Graves, who is facing a tough challenge from former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, pushing the China-Cuba story at local campaign events:

Graves campaign spokesman Jason Klindt is sticking to the story for now.

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Last week we brought you an amazing gay-baiting ad from Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), a spot that attacked his Democratic opponent for supporting "San Francisco values" and even featuring gaudily-dressed people dancing to cheesy disco music.

Well, Graves is apparently undeterred by the outraged response that greeted his first effort, because now he's got another gay-baiting spot up on the air:

This new ad singles out support that former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes has received from gay rights organizations, with a cover feature from a local gay newspaper, and accuses Barnes of having an agenda "to make same-sex marriage the law in Missouri."

Keep a close eye on this House race -- it's probably going to get even uglier.

Yesterday we brought you a ridiculous attack ad being run by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) that ties his Dem opponent to the "San Francisco values" of Nancy Pelosi -- a sign that the incumbent sensed he was in serious danger, to be going up negative so early.

Well, guess what? A new poll confirms Graves is vulnerable, but still ahead in the race.

The new numbers from SurveyUSA: Graves (R) 49%, Barnes (D) 39%.

This race is being closely watched by the national parties because it offers Dems a chance at knocking off a four-term incumbent, which would be a major victory. And for his part, Graves is in the sub-50% danger zone -- so expect to see more of that wacky ad and others like it, in order to whip up the GOP base.

Okay, we've got some more for you on that wonderful attack ad we posted on earlier that Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) is running -- it connects his Dem challenger to Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco values, and (gasp!) young people dancing to club music.

The ad is worth dwelling on because it's a sign that this race is going to be a top priority for both national parties this Fall.

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Check out this new attack ad from Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), who is facing a tough challenge from former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes (D). The ad attacks Barnes' "San Francisco values," with some truly stunning imagery:

The Graves campaign is standing by the ad: "The same week Kay Barnes was in San Francisco for a fundraiser, the California Supreme Court issues the most sweeping liberal, activist, pro-gay marriage ruling in the nation."

The Barnes campaign has this ad hitting back at Graves, saying that after eight years in Congress that ad is all he has to show for it: