OVERNIGHT BALLOT BOX: Obama campaign tries to capitalize on Bain

by Emily Goodin - 05/14/12 9:53 PM ET

The response from Team Romney: “President Obama has many questions to answer as to why his administration used the stimulus to reward wealthy campaign donors with taxpayer money for bad ideas like Solyndra, but 23 million Americans are still struggling to find jobs,” said Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul in a statement.

{mosads}The Romney camp released its own Web ad, touting Romney’s success with another steel company during his tenure at Bain, calling it the “American Dream.”

Romney was also defended by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who’s said to be on the list for the No. 2 spot on the presidential ticket.

“They were trying to make a profit. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t,” Portman said. “Net, it did work though — he did create a lot of jobs.”

As for VP speculation, Portman said: “I think I’m better suited to stay where I am in the Senate. The folks in Ohio expect me to stick around and do my job.”

It’s also worth noting Obama’s attacks on Romney’s record at Bain echo arguments made by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) during the Republican presidential primary. Gingrich came under pressure to drop the criticism after other Republicans suggested he was attacking capitalism and doing the bidding of the Obama campaign.

Ron Paul, meanwhile, announced Monday he won’t campaign in any more primaries.

“We will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted,” Paul said in a letter to supporters. “Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.”

TOMORROW’S AGENDA TODAY: Mitt Romney will be in Iowa, making a speech on the deficit at Drake University.

President Obama will speak at the National Peace Officers Memorial Service, welcome the L.A. Galaxy soccer team to the White House and, in the evening, host a dinner for Combatant Commanders and their spouses.

Also, polls close in Nebraska at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday. Republicans will pick their nominee to face former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D) for the state’s open Senate seat.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) tweeted a photo of her sons cooking and wrote: “My boys cooked a great Mother’s Day dinner for me yesterday. Hope all the mom’s out there enjoyed your day too!”

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “While such a meeting — and the inevitable circus atmosphere surrounding it — would no doubt be of great interest to the media covering this story, a meeting with her is simply not necessary at this time.” — Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), on his refusing to meet with a Colombian prostitute at the center of a Secret Service scandal. (The Hill)

POLL POSITION:

A poll from The Hill found that 40 percent of likely voters believe President Obama is too supportive of gay rights. But 40 percent believe Mitt Romney is not supportive enough.

A majority of Americans see gay and lesbian relationships as “morally acceptable,” according to a new poll from Gallup.

Obama leads Romney by 5 percentage points in Michigan, 44 percent to 39, according to a poll conducted by the Glengariff Group and reported in the Detroit News.

Obama is viewed favorably by 47 percent in Maine, compared to 51 percent who view Romney favorably, according to a poll from Maine-based Critical Insights.

Obama leads Romney 52 percent to 38 in Minnesota, according to a Survey USA poll.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is leading Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, his likely Democratic challenger in the recall election, by nine points, according to a new poll. The We Ask America poll found Walker garnered 52 percent, while Barrett had 43 percent.

AD WATCH:

A new ad from the liberal group MoveOn.org slams Mitt Romney for the positions he took against funding Planned Parenthood and mandating that all employers cover contraception in medical insurance, arguing he “threw women under the bus” to secure the Republican nomination.

Republicans debuted a new Web ad Monday that hammered President Obama over the mounting federal debt.

SENATE SHOWDOWN:

Connecticut: Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) secured the endorsement of the Connecticut Democratic Party at a state party convention, but former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz won enough delegates to get her name on the ballot.

Indiana: USA Super PAC, a new outside spending group, is targeting Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) with a statewide radio ad tying him to President Obama.

And Donnelly’s campaign released a poll showing him tied with state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) at 40 percent.

Massachusetts: Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) renewed his call for his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Warren, to release personnel records Monday, arguing that new evidence that she listed herself as a minority faculty member at law schools has made it imperative that Warren come clean.

Missouri: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) holds a single-digit lead over all three of her Republican opponents, according to a new poll from a Democratic super-PAC. McCaskill leads former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) 45-36, businessman John Brunner 46-38 and Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) 44-39 in the survey released Monday by Majority PAC and conducted by Democratic pollster Mark Mellman.

Montana: Sen. Jon Tester (D), a top GOP target, is up with his sixth ad of the cycle. All have been positive bio spots so far, building up his name ID and giving him some distance from Obama.

North Dakota: Heidi Heitkamp (D) released a new television ad highlighting her support for the state’s energy industry.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Obama’s words of wisdom: President Obama told graduates of Barnard College that their generation will “help lead the way” to “bring about the changes we need” to help move the country in the right direction. The speech was part of an effort by Team Obama to lure two key demographics to their column: women and young voters. And Obama made sure to tout his efforts to help women, including passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Veep, Veep: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) knocks Mitt Romney on immigration.

Mac attack: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made an appeal to Hispanic voters Monday, saying that Romney would address “the need for immigration reform” and that the presumptive GOP nominee did not think self-deportation was “the entire answer to the issue.”

Forever young: Crossroads Generation, new GOP super-PAC targeting the youth vote, was founded jointly by the College Republicans, Young Republican National Federation and Karl Rove‘s American Crossroads super-PAC.

Division in the ranks: House Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.) split with Obama on the issue of same-sex marriage, saying although he supports same-sex marriage rights, he doesn’t agree with Obama on allowing states to decide marriage policy.

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

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