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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* With 12 days remaining before Election Day, Republicans have a new reason to feel some optimism: A new USA Today/Suffolk University poll found the GOP leading Democrats on the congressional generic ballot, 49% to 45%. As recently as July, it was Democrats who led by four points.
* Police officials in Phoenix confirmed overnight that they are investigating a burglary at the campaign headquarters of Katie Hobbs, the Democratic nominee for governor of Arizona. An NBC News report added, “A police spokesperson said officers responded to a call about a break-in Tuesday afternoon and determined that items had been taken from the office Monday night.”
* On a related note, the Hobbs campaign launched a new television ad this week, highlighting the support the Arizona Democrat has received from Republicans, including a former U.S. attorney in the Bush/Cheney administration.
* In Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, the latest Monmouth University poll showed Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock narrowly leading Herschel Walker among 2018 voters, 2020 voters, and voters who describe themselves as “extremely motivated.” But among voters who say they’re “more enthusiastic” this year than usual, the same survey found the Republican is ahead.
* In Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan launched an interesting new ad this week, reminding voters that he launched an intra-party challenge against then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in 2016.
* Democrats were so eager to pounce on Mehmet Oz’s anti-abortion comments this week — in Tuesday night’s debate, the Pennsylvania Republican said “local political leaders” should be involved in reproductive rights decisions — that even President Joe Biden weighed in on the story yesterday.
* Though North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race still isn’t seen as one of the Democrats’ best pickup opportunities, the latest Marist poll found Republican Rep. Ted Budd and Democrat Cheri Beasley, a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, tied at 44% each among registered voters. Among North Carolinians who say they’ll definitely vote, however, the GOP congressman leads by four, 49% to 45%.
* And with time running out in the election cycle, Republican commentator Tudor Dixon has now launched her first general election TV ad. The commercial is part of a $1 million ad buy that started yesterday.