CAMPAIGN OVERNIGHT: Big dog barking

Former President Clinton is picking up his fundraising pace, stepping out for two longtime allies in the coming days to help them raise campaign cash.

Clinton will be in Philadelphia on Thursday to help former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D-Pa.), whose vote for his 1993 budget guaranteed its passage and her defeat (and whose son is now married to Chelsea Clinton). He’ll also swing through his home state of Arkansas in early May to help his former driver, former Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), haul in money for his gubernatorial race.

{mosads}And he’s not the only one getting busy: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) is set to embark on a four-day, three-state West Coast paid speaking tour.

The big dog is still Democrats’ best fundraiser — and can go almost anywhere a Democrat has a chance to win, as evidenced by his dual trips. With President Obama’s approval numbers sagging and few other Democrats with anywhere near Clinton’s start power, expect him to be in high demand in the next few months for red-state Democrats like Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Georgia Senate candidate Michelle Nunn.

SENATE SHOWDOWN

NH-SEN (SHAHEEN): Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown (R) will announce he’s running against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire on Thursday evening with a rally at the Portsmouth Sheraton Harborside. 

Meanwhile, Brown is getting a boost from the Ending Spending Action Fund, the group backed by billionaire Joe Ricketts, who is launching a new ad touting the former senator’s opposition to ObamaCare.

LA-SEN (LANDRIEU): Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) leads her GOP opponents in a new survey from conservative pollster Magellan Strategies — but falls far below the 50 percent threshold to win her race outright in November. Landrieu pulls 39 percent to Rep. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) 26 percent in the automated poll of registered voters.

MS-SEN (COCHRAN): The air war heated up in Mississippi on Monday. The Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund both put out ads attacking Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). “Five Decades in Washington is enough,” the Club ad says. Cochran hit back with his own ad, blasting state Sen. Curtis McDaniel (R) for initial comments he made suggesting he wouldn’t have voted for Mississippi disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina. 

“If Chris McDaniel won’t do anything for Mississippi, why should Mississippians do anything for Chris McDaniel?” the narrator asks in the ad.

AK-SEN (BEGICH): An Alaskan environmental group is on the air with a six-figure buy that says Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) “is standing up for Alaska and our way of life” because of his opposition to genetically modified salmon, sometimes referred to as frankenfish.

SD-SEN (OPEN): Democratic candidate Rick Weiland (D) held an unusual press conference with Tea Party candidate Stace Nelson (R) to criticize GOP front-runner and former Gov. Mike Rounds (R) for his out-of-state fundraising hauls.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE

MI-8 (ROGERS): Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has endorsed in the race to replace him, throwing his support behind former Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R).

MI-14 (CAMP): Businessman Paul Mitchell (R) announced his bid for retiring Rep. Dave Camp’s (R-Mich.) seat and will face off state Sen. John Moolenaar (R) for the GOP nomination in the Republican-leaning district. 

CA-21 (VALADAO): Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) doesn’t mention that he’s a candidate in the short bio he picked to appear on the ballot.

FOLLOW THE MONEY

CO-SEN (UDALL): Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) raised $2 million and has $6 million in the bank for his bid against Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).

LA-SEN (LANDRIEU): Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) banked $1.8 million and has $7.5 million cash on hand. Her main opponent, Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), raised $1.2 million in the last three months and has more than $5 million cash on hand.

NC-SEN (HAGAN): North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R) raised $1.3 million in the last fundraising quarter and has the same amount in the bank as he looks to win his primary to face Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).

OR-SEN (MERKLEY): Republican Monica Wehby raised $590,000 in the last quarter. She did not announce how much she has in the bank.

2016 WATCH

IOWA: Three big-name Republicans are heading to Iowa. Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) will all speak at the Iowa Republican Party’s convention, allowing future caucus-goers to compare the potential White House candidates.

CHRISTIE: Former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official David Wildstein, who resigned in the wake of the George Washington Bridge scandal, met with federal prosecutors last week, according to Main Justice. Several people familiar with the investigation told the legal blog that Wildstein was “camped at the U.S. Attorney’s office” in Newark for several days last week. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There’s no doubt I’ve fallen short and I’m asking for forgiveness. I’m asking for forgiveness from God, my wife, my kids, my staff, and my constituents who elected me to serve.” — Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.), apologizing after a video surfaced of the married congressman kissing a staffer