Senate 5: Akin doubles down on 'dog'

POLITICO’s daily afternoon scorecard of the five biggest developments in the battle for the Senate.

Todd Akin doubles down on comparing his opponent to a dog, Senate Republicans get a boost from Team Romney and Connie Mack is promoting the work of his longtime foe.


1. AKIN DOUBLES DOWN ON ‘DOG’ ANALOGY — Missouri Republican Todd Akin isn’t backing off his comments that Sen. Claire McCaskill fetches taxes and regulations like a “dog.” His campaign spokesman, Rick Tyler, only threw fuel on the controversy Monday afternoon, tweeting: “If Claire McCaskill were a dog, she’d be a ‘Bullshitsu.’” A McCaskill spokeswoman said she was “speechless” and wanted to know if Akin, a St. Louis-area congressman, shared Tyler’s view. Tyler replied: “It’s a joke. Get it?” But he wouldn’t say whether Akin regretted likening McCaskill to a dog or if he planned to apologize. Akin’s rhetoric has been under scrutiny since his August remarks about “legitimate rape.” At a recent debate, he said McCaskill was more “ladylike” during debates in her 2006 Senate run. After Akin’s “dog” remarks, McCaskill appealed to donors for campaign cash.

2. ROMNEY TO THE RESCUE — Mitt Romney’s campaign gave a $12 million boost to the campaign arms of House and Senate Republicans. The Huffington Post reported Monday that Romney’s victory fund has transferred $6 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee and another $6 million to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Most of that money was given in the month of September. Romney’s contributions are a departure from the Obama campaign, which amid a tough reelection battle has chosen to hoard its cash rather than share it with House and Senate Democrats. The Romney funds will be particularly helpful for Senate Republicans who have seen their chances of winning control of the upper chamber dwindle in recent months.

3. JOHNSON’S BET IN WISCONSIN — One of the looming questions in the margin-of-error Wisconsin Senate race is whether Tommy Thompson can sustain a Badger State loss by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and still prevail over Rep. Tammy Baldwin. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who two years ago dislodged liberal icon Russ Feingold by 5 points, is betting that the presidential and Senate contests go in tandem. “As this thing has come down to the wire, just looking at polls and looking at the attitude of voters, I’m thinking how the presidential race goes, so goes the Senate race,” Johnson told POLITICO in an interview in Green Bay, Wis., Monday at a National Federation of Independent Business event featuring Thompson. Last week’s Marist poll bolstered that theory, showing Obama with a 6-point lead and Baldwin holding a 4-point advantage. But a fresh Rasmussen Reports survey showed closer races and forecasted more ticket-splitters: Obama and Thompson both lead by just 2 points

4. MACK BURIES HATCHET WITH SCRIBE SMITH? — Connie Mack, the GOP nominee running for Senate in Florida, has made no secret of his disdain for the Tampa Bay Times ’ top political writer, Adam Smith. But Mack’s campaign on Monday was happy to highlight in an email that Smith named the congressman the “Winner of the week” in Florida politics. “The underdog U.S. Senate candidate looked confident, aggressive, and not the least bit intimidated to debate incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson at their one and only televised matchup,” Smith wrote. However, as National Journal’s Julie Sobel pointed out, Mack didn’t include a link to the piece — and for good reason. Smith also named Mack the loser of the week, saying rarely has there been a politician “so shameless about hurling false statements and accusations.” Our own Charlie Mahtesian has documented the long-running drama between Mack and Smith: As recently as July, Mack issued an open letter to Smith, accusing him of acting like Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson’s communications director and doing opposition research on Mack.

5. MORNING CALL POLL SWINGS BACK TO CASEY — Bob Casey’s campaign dismissed as unreliable a Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll two weeks ago showing the Democratic senator running roughly even with Republican self-funder Tom Smith. Today, the campaign embraced a new poll by the same group giving Casey an 8-point lead, 45 percent to 37 percent. Recent surveys had shown Casey’s once-large advantage slowly slipping away, but the first-term senator finally has begun to engage Smith at campaign stops and in TV ads — a move that may help to stop the slide and boost his numbers. Casey spokesman Larry Smar also noted that the state’s two big-city newspapers — the Philadelphia Inquirer and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — have endorsed Casey in recent days. The Harrisburg Patriot-News also gave the senator its nod.

Who Won The Day: The NRSC, for receiving a $6 million windfall from the Romney campaign. Who Lost The Day: Todd Akin, for spending another day of the campaign with foot planted firmly in mouth. David Catanese reported from Green Bay, Wis.