Big Money Seeks To Save Republicans
Outside money swoops in to shore up Republicans. NYT: "Republican candidates for the Senate have overcome the sizable fund-raising edge held by their Democratic opponents for most of the 2014 election cycle ... The question is whether the last-minute money, raised in the three months ending Sept. 30, is coming too late ... Even in races where they are now being outraised, Democrats have booked or aired more television spending for October and early November. Republicans rely more on outside groups and super PACs, which must pay higher rates for advertising..."
Republicans have been unable to expand the Senate map. Politico: "...while Democrats are competing in Kansas and South Dakota and holding on in the South, Republicans are not in position to pick up any blue states. Public polls have shown Democrats with solid leads in states like Oregon, Minnesota or Virginia (which is more purple)..."
Minimum Wage, Not Deficit, Could Decide Election
Minimum wage could tip 6 races. Public Policy Polling: "New Public Policy Polling surveys in 6 states with highly competitive races either for the Senate or Governor this fall- Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin- find strong support for increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, and that Republican candidates could face backlash for their opposition to the raise."
But nobody cares about the deficit. The Hill: "The federal deficit and government spending figure less prominently in voters’ decisions this year than in 2010, according to an NBC New/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday. Seven percent of respondents said those two issues are the deciding factor in their vote for Congress ... The issue has largely faded from the campaign trail ..."
Breakfast Sides
Inversion crackdown scuttles deal. NYT: "AbbVie, the Illinois-based drug maker that had agreed to pay $54 billion for the Irish pharmaceutical company Shire, now has cold feet. AbbVie’s abrupt reconsideration of the deal sent Shire’s stock price plummeting on Wednesday and provided the clearest evidence yet that the Treasury Department had succeeded in cracking down on corporate inversions."
Court win for California high-speed rail. AP: "The State Supreme Court decided Wednesday not to consider an appeal of a case brought by opponents of the state’s $68 billion bullet train project, allowing construction to proceed ... Opponents had questioned whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority was complying with terms of the ballot measure that funded the project ... [The court] said the arguments were brought too soon."
US strikes hopeful note on China currency. Bloomberg: "The U.S. said China has shown 'some renewed willingness' to let the yuan strengthen while reiterating the currency 'remains significantly undervalued.' In a twice-yearly report to Congress on foreign exchange, the Treasury Department said changes to China’s currency policy remain incomplete and the world’s second-largest economy should allow the market to play a greater role..."
GOP mad at Obama's land preservation. The Hill: "The president has named 13 national monuments so far using the century-old Antiquities Act, putting tight restrictions on more than 1 million acres of public land. The most recent designation came last week, when the president designated more than 350,000 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains in California as a monument near Los Angeles ... [Republican] legislation that the House passed earlier this year ... would limit presidents to one national monument per state each term, and require environmental review and public input for designations."
