OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Tough talk from Obama and Romney

by Cameron Joseph and Emily Goodin - 07/17/12 10:06 PM ET

Meanwhile, fundraising in Texas, Obama said his campaign is asking voters to “examine” Romney’s private sector experience, saying it’s his opponent’s “calling card” for the presidency.

{mosads}Seeking to keep the conversation on Romney’s time at private-equity firm Bain Capital for another day, Obama continued to tie his opponent to outsourcing.

“His main calling card for wanting to be president is his private-sector experience,” Obama told a crowd at a campaign event in San Antonio. “So we asked the voters to examine that experience.”

VOTERS ARE VOTING: North Carolina holds run-off primaries in three congressional districts today. The big contest is for the Republican nomination to take on Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell, who is a top GOP target. Richard Hudson and Scott Keadle are battling it out with outside groups spending heavily in the race.

Republicans will also pick their nominee in the 9th district and 11th districts.

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. EDT.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: Mitt Romney attends a town-hall meeting in Bowling Green, Ohio. President Obama attends a fundraiser at the Mandarian Oriental in Washington D.C.

TWEET OF THE DAY: “Of the Rich, By the Rich, For the Rich.” — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), tweeting about the Disclose Act.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s a clown story, bro.” — Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), on reports he’s considering a run for New York City mayor.

POLL POSITION:

Mitt Romney has cut into President Obama’s lead in New Hampshire, according to a WMUR Granite State poll. Obama still leads Romney 49 percent to 43 in the state, but that’s down from the president’s 9 point lead in April.

Romney has cut Obama’s lead in half in the critical swing-state of Iowa, according to the latest survey from liberal-leaning Public Policy Polling. Obama still leads 48 to 43 percent, but that’s down from a lead of 51 to 41 percent from the same poll in May.

AD WATCH:

President Obama‘s campaign released a television ad hammering rival Mitt Romney on his personal finances, set to run to coincide with the GOP contender’s visit to Pennsylvania. “Tax havens, offshore accounts, carried interest. Mitt Romney has used every trick in the book. Romney admits that over the last two years he’s paid less than 15 percent in taxes on $43 million in income. Makes you wonder if some years he paid any taxes at all,” says a narrator in the ad.

A Web video released Monday by the Romney campaign featuring Obama’s rendition of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” has been removed from YouTube due to a copyright claim from the singer’s record label.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:

Seventeen House incumbents were out-raised in the last quarter by their challengers, an inauspicious sign for many of them as they head into their reelection campaigns.

Florida: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) is touting an internal poll his campaign says shows the long-term Florida lawmaker trouncing Rep. Sandy Adams in their member-versus-member primary, 55 percent to 17.

New York: Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) has been cleared by the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent watchdog, of fundraising violations — a major boost to his reelection campaign.

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

Missouri: A super-PAC backing former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) has just shy of $450,000 to spend in the closing weeks of her primary against businessman John Brunner (R) and Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), a sum that could be a big boost for the candidate. And Sarah Palin endorsed Steelman on Tuesday.

Montana: Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) is out with a new ad featuring his mother, who attacks Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) for “playing politics” with cancer.

New Mexico: Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) continues to lead former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) in their Senate race, according to a new poll from the Democratic-affiliated Public Policy Polling. The poll has him leading by 48 to 43 percent, a mark that’s virtually unchanged from previous polls of the race. Heinrich went up with a new positive ad touting his fight to raise the minimum wage in Albuquerque and saying he fought to cut taxes for small businesses. The ad is running in Albuquerque.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Mitt Romney has reiterated his insistence that he will not release more of his tax records. In an interview, Romney said he won’t release more tax returns because he doesn’t want to give President Obama’s campaign “more pages to pick through, distort and lie about.”

Top Romney surrogate John H. Sununu unloaded on Obama, saying he comes from a “felon environment” in Chicago and suggesting the president should “learn how to be an American.” The former New Hampshire governor walked back the later comment — clarifying that “the president has to learn the American formula for creating business.”

Romney surrogate Tim Pawlenty walked back Sununu’s critical remarks. “Obviously Gov. Sununu has a knack for colorful language and it can be very informative and entertaining,” said Pawlenty on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.” “He admitted perhaps he wasn’t as clear as he should have been and issued a clarification, and I think that was appropriate under the circumstances.”

Romney’s campaign announced it has hired staff for the presumptive Republican nominee’s future running mate, further fueling speculation that the GOP hopeful will announce his pick soon.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), considered among the front-runners for Romney’s vice presidential slot, said he had not heard from the presumptive Republican nominee about the job.

The Obama campaign filed a lawsuit with the state of Ohio in an effort to bring back three days of early voting removed by the state’s Republican-controlled state legislature. The campaign maintains that delaying the early-voting days is unfair to voters who are in the military and vote early. The campaign lawsuit says that the new law violates a constitutional equal protection provision.

Casino mogul and conservative donor Sheldon Adelson is threatening to sue the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for libel.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) denied that his decision to choose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate over Romney in 2008 had anything to do with the former Massachusetts governor’s tax returns. He said Palin was the “best fit” for his campaign.

Four of Romney’s five sons urged the GOP presidential candidate to “move on” and drop his 2012 campaign plans after he lost his 2008 bid for the party’s nomination.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that a set of ads from the Romney campaign featuring her criticism of Obama during the 2008 primaries was “a waste of money” and would do little to change voters’ minds. “I am out of politics, and I haven’t seen any of the ads that you’re talking about, but I have to say it’s a waste of money,” Clinton told CNN. “Everybody knows I ran against President Obama in 2008; that’s hardly news. Everybody knows we ran a hard-fought campaign and he won. And I have been honored to serve as his secretary of State.”

Please send tips and comments to Emily Goodin, egoodin@digital-stage.thehill.com; Cameron Joseph, cjoseph@digital-stage.thehill.com; and Justin Sink, jsink@digital-stage.thehill.com

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