OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN: Obama ramps up Bain attacks on Romney

Romney wasn’t very visible on Monday. He gave an interview to “Fox and Friends” in the morning, where he defended his calls for an apology from Obama.

“When people accuse you of a crime, you have every reason to go after them pretty hard, and I’m going to continue going after him. I’m very proud of the record I had at my business career, helping turn around the Olympics and as the governor of the state of Massachusetts,” he said.

{mosads}And Team Romney looked to move beyond Obama’s attacks on his links to Bain Capital with a new line of attack accusing the White House of favoring political donors with government contracts.

In his Fox News appearance, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee said the ties between the Obama administration and donors “stinks to high heaven.”

SNEAK PEAK: The Hill examines how polling suggests President Obama‘s attacks on Mitt Romney‘s Bain background are hurting the presumptive GOP nominee in key swing states. Check it out on digital-stage.thehill.com on Tuesday night or in Wednesday’s print edition.

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: Mitt Romney will campaign in Irwin, Pa.

President Obama will travel to San Antonio and Austin, Texas, for fundraising events.

Vice President Biden will be in New York City to fundraise for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

TWEET OF THE DAY: “New York Post says “@RepWeiner trying to make comeback”–he’s a sexual pervert & they can never be healed. Huma should drop him before it happens again.” — Donald Trump

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “She is a caring mother. She is a loving wife, while at the same time she is the first lady. No matter the pressure and the stress of being under the microscope, she’s humble, loving and sincere.” — Beyoncé on first lady Michelle Obama.

POLL POSITION:

President Obama and Mitt Romney are running neck-and-neck in 12 swing states that will be critical in determining the outcome of the 2012 election, according to a Purple Insights poll. Obama leads Romney 47 percent to 45 in these states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

AD WATCH:

Mitt Romney‘s campaign, in a Web video on Monday, accused President Obama of favoring his political donors while failing to create jobs and spur economic growth for the middle class.

Obama defended the tone of his campaign’s attacks on Romney against charges he has gone negative, saying that he intended to highlight the “sharp contrast” between himself and his GOP challenger. 

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE:

Pennsylvania: Rep. Mark Critz (D-Pa.) has a 6-point lead over Republican Keith Rothfus, 44 percent to 38, according to a new poll from the House Majority PAC, a Democratic super-PAC, and the Service Employees International Union. Partisan polls should always be taken with a grain of salt, and while Critz holds an edge in the survey, 44 percent is not where most incumbents want to be.

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

Missouri: Republican John Brunner launched a new ad ripping his primary opponents, Sarah Steelman and Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), as “not reliable conservatives.” Brunner has moved to the front of the field in the race, largely due to his heavy self-financing. The winner of the Aug. 7 primary will face Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

Texas: Republican David Dewhurst is up with a new ad that says his GOP primary opponent, Ted Cruz, lied about Dewhurst’s record in attack ads. The self-funding Dewhurst announced he raised $6 million in the last quarter, with some being his own money, while Cruz announced he’d raised $1.7 million.

Wisconsin: Republican Mark Neumann announced he’d raised $730,000 in the second fundraising quarter and planned on doubling his television ad buy ahead of his Aug. 8 primary against Tommy Thompson and businessman Eric Hovde. The haul isn’t bad — he’ll be able to roughly match what Thompson spends in the state, and the fiscally conservative Club for Growth is already on the airwaves attacking his opponents — but Hovde plans to spend a total of $4.5 million on the campaign.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Former President George H.W. Bush will not attend the Republican National Convention in Tampa due to health problems, marking the first party convention that the 41st president will miss in more than 35 years.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill he’s been to Boston to meet Mitt Romney’s senior advisers, and has met Beth Myers, who is leading the search for the vice presidential nominee.

And Mike Huckabee said on his radio show that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be a “disaster” as the VP pick.

Romney’s campaign denied a report in The New York Times that the presumptive Republican nominee had chosen a running mate. “No decision’s been made on VP,” Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom told reporters during a fundraising stop in Louisiana.

Restore Our Future, the super-PAC supporting Romney’s presidential campaign, raised $20 million in June. It far surpassed the $6 million brought in by Priorities USA, the group backing President Obama’s reelection.

Romney pointed out in his Fox interview that John McCain didn’t release all his tax returns while running for president, nor did Teresa Heinz Kerry during her husband’s run.

Obama’s reelection campaign is raising funds off a party the president will hold in Chicago next month for his 51st birthday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is now the $300 million woman. That’s the total that Pelosi, the former Speaker, has raised for her colleagues in the decade since she first entered the House leadership, according to data provided to The Hill by her political office.

Donald Trump said Romney should refrain from turning over additional tax records unless Obama reveals his college transcripts.

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