OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Raising the volume on Bain

“President Obama’s campaign hit a new low today when one of its senior advisers made a reckless and unsubstantiated charge to reporters about Mitt Romney that was so over the top that it calls into question the integrity of their entire campaign,” said Rhodes in a statement to reporters. “President Obama ought to apologize for the out-of-control behavior of his staff, which demeans the office he holds. Campaigns are supposed to be hard fought, but statements like those made by Stephanie Cutter belittle the process and the candidate on whose behalf she works.”

{mosads}Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said the president would not apologize.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: President Obama begins a two-day bus tour in Virginia, campaigning in Roanoke and Hampton.

TWEET OF THE DAY: “Scott Brown & Gail are also celebrating their anniversary! I’ve sent flowers to wish them a happy anniversary & many more years of happiness.” — Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren

POLL POSITION:

President Obama has widened his lead to 7 percentage points over Mitt Romney nationally, 50 percent to 43, according to a Pew Research survey

AD WATCH:

The outside spending group Crossroads GPS launched a new television ad accusing President Obama of supporting failed economic policies and calling on him to reduce the federal debt. The commercial from the GOP-affiliated group, “Tried,” is being used in an $8 million ad buy set to run in the swing states of Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia over the next week.

Mitt Romney is using Hillary Clinton to lash out at Obama over his charges on outsourcing in a new ad.

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:

The National Republican Congressional Committee has announced seven new “Young Gun” candidates, which could help them raise more money. They are Adam Hasner in Florida, Ben Lange and John Archer in Iowa, Kevin Raye in Maine, Kevin Cramer in North Dakota, Danny Tarkanian in Nevada and Chris Collins in New York.

Florida: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) in her member-versus-member primary campaign against House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.).

Illinois: Freshman Rep. Bobby Schilling (R) raised $350,000 and has $950,000 cash on hand for his tough race against East Moline City Councilwoman Cheri Bustos (D). Bustos outraised him with a $470,000 quarter; she didn’t announce how much money she had in the bank, though she had $470,000 at the end of March.

Massachusetts: Republican Richard Tisei raised $570,000 for his race against Rep. John Tierney (D), who is vulnerable because of a gambling scandal that has ensnared his wife and her family.

Minnesota: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) raised more than $1.7 million in the second quarter, her campaign announced. 

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

Florida: Sen. Bill Nelson (D) outraised his presumed GOP challenger, Rep. Connie Mack, in the second quarter. Nelson reported raising $1.8 million, giving him nearly $11 million in the bank, while Mack reported raising $839,000, with just under $1.4 million in the bank. Mack is favored to win the August GOP primary.

Hawaii: An internal poll from Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) shows her leading former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle (R) in their Senate race by 53 to 41 percent. The poll was released in response to one from Lingle’s campaign that showed her leading Hirono by 45 to 40 percent. Lingle also announced she’d raised $1.1 million the quarter, but did not say how much cash on hand she has.

Missouri: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) raised $2.6 million in the past three months, according to the Springfield News-Leader.

Montana: Sen. Jon Tester (D) raised $2 million in the second quarter and has $3.6 million cash on hand.

New Jersey: Both Sen. Bob Menendez (D) and his GOP challenger, Joe Kyrillos, banked more than $1 million in the second quarter, but the incumbent Democrat retains a large cash-on-hand lead in their contest. Menendez’s $1.7 million haul brought his total cash on hand to $10.3 million, while Kryillos raised $1.3 million and had $2 million in the bank at the end of June.

Nevada: Rep. Shelley Berkley (D) raised more than $1.5 million in the second quarter for her Senate bid and has more than $4 million cash on hand. Sen. Dean Heller (R), meanwhile, raised $1.2 million with nearly $4.5 million cash on hand, according to reports. And Berkley went on air with two ads, one counter-attacking the ethics charges she faces by pointing out the House Ethics Committee’s investigation stems from a complaint filed by the state GOP and slamming Heller for voting “twice to end Medicare as we know it.” The other focuses exclusively on Heller’s support of the Republican House Budget.

North Dakota: Heidi Heitkamp (D) raised just shy of $1 million in the last three months for her Senate bid.

Ohio: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) raised $3 million in the second quarter and has $6.5 million cash on hand.

Texas: Tea Party star Ted Cruz could be poised for an upset victory in the GOP primary, leading state Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst by nine points, 47 percent to 38, in a survey released Thursday. The poll was commissioned by Citizens United, an outside group supporting Cruz’s candidacy. The runoff election is set for July 31.

Meanwhile, a proposal to outlaw airport security pat-downs from the Transportation Security Administration has emerged as an issue in the race. And the deep-pocketed, fiscally conservative Club for Growth launched a $1.5 million statewide ad buy against Dewhurst.

Wisconsin: Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) raised $2.2 million for her Senate campaign, her strongest quarter yet — and one that came while she was competing with the state’s gubernatorial recall race for time and resources. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Mitt Romney could not win Senate confirmation for the lowly government job of dogcatcher. “He only couldn’t be confirmed as a Cabinet secretary, he could be confirmed as a dogcatcher,” Reid said.

Vice President Biden rallied black voters to President Obama’s cause during an address to the NAACP.

Reflecting on his first term in office, Obama said the biggest gaffe he’s made was in putting policy before giving Americans a sense of “unity and purpose and optimism.”

Top labor leaders met with Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) Thursday morning and said she told them she’d fight to include their priorities in the Democratic Party platform. The meeting — and her offer — are signs that the DNC is trying to placate those in organized labor who are still angry the party’s convention is being held in North Carolina, a state hostile to unions.

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.

Follow us on Twitter: @hillballotbox, @emilylgoodin, @cam_joseph, @JTSTheHill

You can sign up to receive this overnight update via email on The Hill’s homepage.