* With Virginia's gubernatorial race very nearly over, a new Newport University poll shows Terry McAuliffe (D) leading Ken Cuccinelli (R) by seven, 45% to 38%.
* On a related note, the final Hampton University poll shows a lightly more competitive race, with McAuliffe up by six, 42% to 36%.
* In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett's (R) public support appears to be collapsing. A new poll from Franklin & Marshall College shows only 19% of his constituents believe the governor is doing an "excellent" or "good job." Only one in five believe Corbett deserves a second term.
* Republican pollster Freed Steeper, who served as an adviser to both Presidents Bush, argued this week that his party needs to move past its hostility towards immigration reform for their own electoral fortunes to improve. "Racism may be a part of it," Steeper conceded. "The Republican Party needs to stop pandering to that."
* In Minnesota, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows Sen. Al Franken (D) in excellent shape for his re-election bid next year, leading each of his likely Republican challengers by double digits.
* And in North Carolina, Rep. Melvin Watt (D) has been nominated to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, but Senate Republicans refuse to allow his nomination to come up for a vote. This is causing some complications back in his district, where there are seven candidates vying to replace him, but the race can't begin until GOP obstruction ends.