VP Beat: GOP Govs Bask in Walker’s Wisconsin Win
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Melina Mara/The Washington Post(WASHINGTON) — WALKER WIN BOOSTS RGA AND McDONNELL: As head of the Republican Governors Association, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell led the RGA’s efforts to support Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Tuesday’s recall election, dispatching governors, whose names have also been floated as potential VP contenders, to campaign with him in Wisconsin and pouring millions of dollars into the race. As the Washington Examiner notes, Walker’s win in Wisconsin gave McDonnell “bragging rights” over his DGA counterpart, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, and served as a “a dress rehearsal for nearly a dozen gubernatorial contests this fall.”
JINDAL SAYS WALKER WIN IS BAD SIGN FOR DEMS: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who stumped for Walker last month, said Tuesday night that Walker’s win in a Democratic stronghold is a bad signal for President Obama’s chances in the fall and argued that Ohio and Michigan will now be tighter contests, the Washington Times reported. “A lot of the experts were predicting a late night in Milwaukee. Instead it looks like it’s going to be a late night in Chicago,” Jindal said on Fox News’ On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.
WILL ROMNEY PICK A COMBATIVE VP? Mitt Romney’s campaign has unleashed aggressive attacks on President Obama since the start of the general election, and as The Hill’s Christian Heinze noted, this combative style might push Romney to select a running mate with attack dog qualities. “Romney’s combative first month could hint that he’s looking to another archetype for vice president – the pugilistic warrior who can go one on one with Joe Biden in a shouting match” Heinze wrote. “The theory goes like this: A vice president is traditionally called upon to deliver the toughest attacks, while the nominee takes the relative high road. But if Romney himself is batting the president around like a piñata, why would he pick someone more discreet, safe and mellow for vice president? In short, a more aggressive campaign might warrant a more aggressive pick that complements, rather than contradicts, Romney’s confrontational style.”
N.J. SHORTFALL INCREASES UNDER CHRISTIE: NJ.com reported revenues in New Jersey were down $50 million to $100 million after last month’s tax collections, according to the budget chief of the Office of Legal Services in New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie’s office claimed the shortfall was closer to $28.9 million. But as NJ.com described, “the latest revenue numbers are pushing hard against Gov. Chris Christie’s claims of a ‘Jersey Comeback.’”
OHIO DEMS LAY OUT ATTACKS ON PORTMAN: ABC News’ Gregory Simmons reports the Ohio Democratic Party Tuesday “unleashed a series of ‘fact checks’ that might otherwise pass as potential attack lines against Portman should he become Romney’s #2.” These attack lines include his involvement in the run-up to the financial crisis, his reliance on outsourcing, his inconsistency on the auto rescue, his “radical, ideological views towards women,” and the fact that Portman is not well known among Ohio voters. More here from the Ohio Dems.
McDONNELL APPROVAL RATING: A Quinnipiac poll released this morning found Gov. Bob McDonnell’s approval rating in Virginia at 53 percent, a figure that matched his lowest approval rating in March.
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