BALLOT BATTLE — Democrats fear that new state-level election restrictions passed by Republicans will have an outsized impact on the midterms, POLITICO's Maya King, David Siders and Daniel Lippman wrote. Groups are only beginning to model midterm turnout, so the impact of the new laws is not yet clear. But the more than three dozen operatives who spoke with POLITICO say they're worried about the impact of the new laws, which were passed in 18 states. "If there isn't a way for us to repeat what happened in November 2020, we're f---ed," said Nsé Ufot, CEO of the Stacey Abrams-founded New Georgia Project. GOP Gov. Brian Kemp signed new election restrictions in March. "We are doing what we do to make sure that not only our constituents, our base, the people, the communities that we organize with, get it. We're trying to make sure that our elected officials get it as well." JUST PEACHY — As he weighs launching a campaign for Senate in Georgia, public records could hurt football star Herschel Walker's future bid, according to The Associated Press' Brian Slodysko, Bill Barrow and Jake Bleiberg. Trump encouraged Walker to run, and the ex-NFL player has teased his entrance into the race. But Walker's past history is making some Republicans wary about putting an untested candidate up against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, in what will be one of the most expensive and contentious races of the midterms. "The documents detail accusations that Walker repeatedly threatened his ex-wife's life, exaggerated claims of financial success and alarmed business associates with unpredictable behavior," Barrow and Beliberg wrote. Walker has been open about being diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, and wrote about it in his book "Breaking Free." ON THE AIRWAVES — OH-11 Democrat Shontel Brown is up with a new TV ad criticizing fellow Democrat Nina Turner for running negative ads against her. "Turner's attacks on Shontel Brown? Simply false. Turner has a history of attacking and lying about Democrats," a narrator says over black-and-white footage of Turner. — Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is running a pair of new coronavirus-focused television ads a week after announcing his reelection campaign. In one 30-second spot, Pritzker praises a member of the Illinois National Guard, on which the governor called to set up vaccination sites during the height of the pandemic. In another ad, Pritzker highlights a nurse and talks about how he provided protective equipment and Covid-19 testing kits for health care workers. OLD DOMINION — President Joe Biden stumped for former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Arlington on Friday, and made an effort to tie Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin to Trump. Biden and McAuliffe told a crowd of 3,000 on Friday that the November governors' race is neck-and-neck, POLITICO's Chris Cadelago and Zach Montellaro wrote. Biden won Virginia by 10 points in 2020, but the race for governor is expected to be closer. Virginia's off-year election is seen as an early test of the president's popularity, and voters often choose the opposite party from the one in power. THE MAP LINES — Maryland state lawmakers could hold a special legislative session the week of Dec. 6 to draw new congressional maps, Maryland Matters' Bruce DePuyt wrote. The state has two redistricting commissions that are holding hearings around the state for input on the new districts. Maryland holds its primaries at the end of June. Similarly, Colorado holds its primaries on June 28. But if that state does not submit new maps by the end of 2021, the Colorado Sun's Thy Vo reports, it would have to push the primaries to a later date, the Secretary of State told the state Supreme Court in a brief last week. — Speaking of the redistricting delay, it's causing anxiety for Democrats in Florida, POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon wrote. The party lost a pair of Miami-based congressional seats in 2020 and is eager to win them back this cycle. But Democrats don't yet have candidates to take on Republican Reps. Carlos Giménez and María Salazar. Former Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) is waiting to see how the map lines look before deciding whether to run for her old seat, and the field is frozen as a result. THE EMPIRE STATE — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo changed his tune on an investigation into claims of misconduct against him, POLITICO New York's Anna Gronewold reports. When Cuomo was initially accused of wrongdoing, he directed state Attorney General Tish James to investigate, and promised the probe would clear his name. But now Cuomo's aides are saying James, a fellow Democrat, is using the investigation to launch her own campaign for governor. The comments even led the head of a separate legislative impeachment investigation to reprimand Cuomo. The three-term governor hasn't announced a reelection campaign yet. ENDORSEMENT ALERT — The California state Republican Party created a pathway to endorse a single Republican running in the Sept. 14 recall, POLITICO California's Jeremy White wrote. Some conservatives had argued that the party shouldn't endorse just one of the two-dozen GOP candidates running to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The party will hold a virtual meeting Aug. 7 to vote on an endorsement. Sixty percent of delegates must vote for the endorsement, so it's possible the party could still vote not to endorse. — Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) will endorse former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) for governor today. Schweikert is a member of the Freedom Caucus, and Salmon was a founding member. Salmon is running to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Doug Ducey. THE KEYSTONE STATE — Pennsylvania Republicans are worried about their 2022 prospects, especially when it comes to the race for governor, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Tamari wrote. Likely Republican candidate Bill McSwain, for example, got into a dispute with former Attorney General Bill Barr that made donors and operatives question his political instincts. Party insiders suspect state Sen. Doug Mastriano would turn off general election voters, and they question former Rep. Lou Barletta's ability to run a winning campaign after his 2018 Senate loss. Speaking of the Senate, Republicans are also concerned after Democratic candidates outraised their Republican counterparts in the second quarter of the year in the race to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey. THE PALMETTO STATE — First-term Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) was a loud critic of Trump for baselessly claiming the election was stolen during her early weeks in Congress. Facing pressure from her pro-Trump base at home, however, Mace has pivoted, The New York Times' Catie Edmondson reports. "After setting herself apart from her party during her first week in office by opposing its effort to overturn President Biden's victory, Ms. Mace has swung back into line," by voting to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from leadership and opposing an independent bipartisan commission to investigate Jan. 6. Mace represents a swing district and narrowly beat Joe Cunningham in 2020. | 
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