• For endangered Democrats, when all else fails, cry racism!

• Democrats have been whining relentlessly about how much money Republicans are spending. Hypocrisy much? From POLITICO:

So far, the latest figures show that the Democratic Party machinery has outraised its Republican counterpart in this campaign cycle by almost $270 million.
And even when outside spending on television advertising and direct mail is added to the mix, Republicans still haven’t closed the gap.
The money race totals come to $856 million for the Democratic committees and their aligned outside groups, compared to $677 for their Republican adversaries, based on figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

• The Fix takes a look at six candidates who opted not to run this cycle, but probably should have.

House:

• A new poll from The Hill is predicting a “midterm blowout” with 50 or more Democratic seats likely to change hands. The GOP needs 39 to control the House. Long-term Democratic incumbents are among the most endangered species in Congress.

• Check out this ad from GOP candidate Robert Dold (IL-10) poking fun at his opponent Dan Seals. Brilliant:

• VA-5 — President Obama will visit Charlottesville, Virginia on Friday to stump for embattled Rep. Tom Perriello (D). Larry Sabato tweets: “So why here? Rep. Tom Perriello(D) has staunchly backed Obama’s top priorities in an R-tilting district. A thank-you, I guess.” Also: “Notice that POTUS chose Perriello and not Rep. Glenn Nye(D-VA-2), equally endangered but much less supportive of Obama policies.”

Senate:

• GOP Senate candidates are winning over independent voters by impressive margins.

KY — The former Rand Paul volunteer who admitted to stomping on an activist from MoveOn.org accused wants an apology.

WA — Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic asks of Sen. Patty Murray: Has the ultimate outsider become the ultimate insider? and breaks down the race between Murray and Republican Dino Rossi as follows:

This race, like so many others this cycle, may represent how fed up voters are with politicians. If Murray’s constituents like the projects she has brought back to Washington, they’ll keep her in office. If the anti-appropriation and anti-pork sentiment is so high that voters reject even a candidate who hands them such projects, it may be a sign of a monster national tidal wave for the GOP. It would also mean the GOP would probably end up controlling the Senate.

WI – Sen. Russ Feingold plays the gender card in his latest ad. Not surprising, given that female voters is one of the few demographics (other than “Democrats” and “liberals”) not breaking for Ron Johnson. According to a CNN/Time poll, the candidates are tied at 48 percent each among women.

Meanwhile, Johnson is up with a new ad as well, taking aim at his opponent’s “mavericky” voting record and featuring a very angry Russ Feingold: