WHO’S AHEAD IN SWING STATE ZOMBIE VOTE. WP. “All 19 were initially registered as voters in the Shenandoah Valley city of Harrisonburg, although a clerk double-checking the entries later raised questions about one. She recognized the name of Richard Allen Claybrook Sr., who died in 2014 at age 87, because his son is a well-known local judge. She happened to recall that the judge’s father had died.”
SUPER PAC BLITZ. WP. “The Republicans’ central Senate super PAC is plowing $21 million more into six key races in the coming weeks as the fight for control of the chamber moves to states more hospitable to GOP candidates.”
BANKER FUNDING. Forbes. “Billionaire Andrew Beal, the richest banker in the nation, is the sole force behind a new super political action committee that is backing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump with newspaper advertisements in swing states.”
BUSINESS NAME HIT. Politico. “Ending a long-running dispute, the House Ethics Committee disciplined Rep. Dave McKinley (R-W.Va.) on Wednesday for failing to change the name of his former firm once he was elected to Congress in 2010.” Documents related to this issue are here.
D BIG MONEY LOVE. NYT. “The flow of money, documented in Federal Election Commission reports, shows Democrats expanding their fund-raising advantage in the final phase of the presidential race, defying expectations at the beginning of the campaign that Republicans would dominate the money chase.”
MATCH IN THE NEWS. WFSU. “Vowing to embarrass the ‘mainstream media and liberal elites,’ the Trump presidential campaign is issuing an urgent plea for donations ahead of Friday’s federal financial reporting deadline.”
PASSING ON CONTRIBUTIONS. M. “The investigation of a Bigfork man the state alleges may have been operating a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors has spilled over into the race for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.”
FOREIGN SPENDING. Intercept. “The six members of the Federal Election Commission found unusual common ground Thursday in a discussion of foreign money in U.S. politics, informally agreeing to move forward after Republican commissioners have had more time to consider the subject.”
CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY PLAYS. ABC. “Cards Against Humanity’s Nuisance Committee super PAC launched Wednesday by buying its first anti-Donald Trump billboard just outside Chicago O’Hare International Airport.”
WARREN ON CR. IBT. “U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Thursday pressed the Obama administration to pledge to veto any annual budget measure that includes a Republican-backed, anti-transparency provision.”
CA: SUIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS. LAT. “Los Angeles County supervisorial candidate Steve Napolitano has sued his opponent, U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn, demanding that she return hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions deemed improper by county officials. The suit also seeks a court order prohibiting Hahn from spending the money.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.