National GOP Pulls Out Of Colorado Senate Race
A national GOP source has confirmed to Election Central that the NRSC is pulling out of the Colorado Senate race, where GOP candidate Bob Schaffer has been trailing in the polls for this Republican-held seat. With this seat now effectively ceded to the Democrats, the Dems are one step closer to 60 Senate seats.

Dems Accuse Republican Of Committing Voter Fraud In New Ad
This new DCCC turns the current allegations from Republicans about ACORN voter fraud right back at them, by directly accusing the Republican candidate against Rep. NIck Lampson (D-TX) of having personally committed voter fraud:

"John McCain says voter fraud may be destroying the fabric of democracy," the announcer says, setting up a line of attack in a district that McCain should carry handily. "And in Houston, Pete Olson is running for Congress while a prosecutor in Virginia investigates him for voter fraud back East!"

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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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Oh, boy.

Former Rep. Melissa Hart -- a Pennsylvania Republican who lost her seat in a 2006 upset and is now seeking a comeback -- just can't seem to let go of the myth that China is drilling for oil off American shores. She now admits the Chinese weren't drilling in the Gulf of Mexico when she pushed it last month -- but she says they might be drilling now.

Here's a clip from an interview with Hart earlier this week, with Pennsylvania blog 2 Political Junkies:

"The fact was that they were not at that moment drilling," Hart said. "But they may already be now."

Hart originally made the claim on May 20. This was before Dick Cheney retracted the story, so we were willing to let this tall tale slide.