MIDTERM MADNESS: Dems hold 10-point lead in NBC/WSJ poll

From one of us(!) on the latest NBC/WSJ poll: “By a whopping 25-point margin, voters say they’re more likely to back a congressional candidate who promises to serve as a check on President Donald Trump, according to a new national poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal. d by a similar margin, they say they’re less likely to vote for someone who has supported the president on most issues. At the same time, six-in-10 are satisfied with the U.S. economy, and a plurality of voters give Trump credit for the economic improvement.”

More: “Despite that economic optimism, however, the poll shows that Democrats enjoy a 10-point advantage on congressional preference, with 50 percent of registered voters wanting a Democratic-controlled Congress, versus 40 percent who want a GOP-controlled one.”

The Washington Post: “Democrats strengthen hand in seeking control of House, even if odds of a blue wave are diminishing.”

Chuck Schumer wants Obama’s help for Democrats in the midterms.

AL-GOV: Kay Ivey calls the idea of a blue wave in Alabama “a joke.”

CA-GOV: With the field set, the California candidates are sticking to their corners.

The LA Times picks apart how Villaraigosa lost.

CA-SEN: It’s official: Dianne Feinstein will face fellow Democrat Kevin de Leon.

IA-GOV: Nate Boulton got 9,000 votes despite suspending his campaign before the gubernatorial election.

IL-GOV: Rod Blagojevich is becoming a factor in the governor’s race.

MO-GOV: Lawmakers have dropped their attempt to subpoena records of Eric Greitens’ donors.

NJ-SEN: Bloomberg reports that Republicans see a path for Bob Hugin after Menendez’s lackluster primary performance.

NY: Sean Patrick Maloney will run for AG.

SC-5: Democrat Archie Parnell says he’ll stay in the House race despite allegations of domestic violence decades ago.

TRUMP AGENDA: A FEMA meeting that wasn’t exactly about hurricanes

The Washington Post gets its hands on Trump’s meandering, self-congratulatory remarks during a private FEMA meeting.

Congress is putting Trump on the defensive as some lawmakers prepare to push back on his tariff plan.

White House deputy chief of staff Joseph Hagin, the president’s point person on the North Korea summit, is planning to leave soon, writes the Washington Post.

Donald Trump isn’t happy about traveling to Canada for the G-7 summit, writes the Washington Post.

POLITICO writes that John Bolton hasn’t yet put together a Cabinet-level meeting to talk North Korea.

The White House and the Secret Service are still trying to figure out how Martese Edwards continued to keep his White House job for more than a month after he allegedly shot his ex’s new boyfriend, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Here’s NBC’s report on Trump’s commutation of the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson.

A spy in the Trump campaign? Paul Ryan is dismissing the theory.

Another Scott Pruitt story via POLITICO: He really, really, really liked eating at the White House — and got a rebuke for it.

Rebecca Shabad and Leigh Ann Caldwell report that House Republicans will meet for a critical negotiation on immigration today, but there’s no deal in sight.