JUST SPECIAL — The Congressional Black Caucus' entry into the OH-11 special election primary is reigniting ideological tensions among Black Democrats. The caucus is supporting Shontel Brown, who backers like House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn say demonstrates "basic, good respect," compared to Turner, a vocal ally of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). But Turner's supporters say the CBC endorsement sends a message to progressives that they are not welcome in the party, POLITICO's Ally Mutnick, Maya King and Heather Caygle wrote. Tuesday's election is viewed as a bellwether for the Democratic Party ahead of the 2022 midterms. THE EMPIRE STATE — Giuliani is criss-crossing the state in his longshot bid for governor, POLITICO's Bill Mahoney wrote. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) is the frontrunner in the race to take on Demcoratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, if he seeks another term. Still, Giuliani is traveling from New York City to more rural parts of the state to campaign. "All evidence suggests he's putting real energy into his campaign and not simply resting on his family name as a lot of people in New York political circles assumed he might when he launched this spring," Bill wrote. POLL POSITION — More than a quarter of Democratic voters are still undecided in the primary race to replace the late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), according to a poll from Data For Progress . The primary is set for Nov. 2. According to the poll, Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness leads the primary field with 17 percent of support, followed by Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief, who has 14 percent of support. Ten percent of voters support state Rep. Omari Handy. Data For Progress said in a memo that Handy is "the most viable progressive candidate" in the race because the Palm Beach County candidate has some support (4 percent) from Broward County voters. The poll surveyed 314 likely Democratic primary special election voters July 6-7 using SMS. Speaking of the primary, Florida Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has given her congressional campaign $2.3 million, The Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man reported, and is considering giving herself another $1 million. There are eight Democrats running in the primary to succeed Hastings. It's not quite clear how wealthy Cherfilus-McCormick is, or where her fortune came from. She is the CEO of Trinity Health Care Services, but has not filed the financial disclosures required of candidates. THE BUCKEYE STATE — Ohio Democrat Nan Whaley, who is running for governor, raised more than $1.6 million in the first half of the year, according to her campaign. Whaley is the mayor of Dayton, and has $1.35 million in cash on hand for her bid to take on GOP Gov. Mike DeWine. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley is also running in the Democratic primary. NOTABLE FLOATABLES — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin hinted at a Senate campaign against Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) late last month during an interview, Right Wing Watch reported. "If God wants me to do it, I will," Palin said, according to a video posted by the Harvest International Ministry . Palin said she had "never heard of" Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who is already running against Murkowski and was endorsed by Trump. JUST PEACHY — Senate Republicans are urging football star Herschel Walker to take a pass on challenging Warnock in favor of a more experienced candidate with less baggage, POLITICO's Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett report. Republicans are wary of old allegations regarding Walker's marriage and business dealings that have surfaced ahead of his campaign. Trump has encouraged Walker, his longtime friend, to run for Senate. "Some of it's pretty bad, obviously: physical abuse and pulling a gun on his wife, if that's true," Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told Marianne and Burgess. "I want to win that race. And to the extent that he's handicapped by some of these things that would make that unlikely, I'd prefer to have somebody else." — Speaking of Georgia, Republicans are moving ahead in their push to take over elections in heavily Democratic Fulton County, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein and Ben Brasch report. State lawmakers sent a letter on Friday requesting a full review of the county's election management. Republicans have for years been critical of the way the county runs elections, although the 2020 election Senate runoffs at the beginning of this year went smoothly. — Plus, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp can raise unlimited amounts of cash for his reelection bid, thanks to a provision in the new elections bill he signed into law earlier this year. Kemp is the first statewide candidate to set up a leadership fund, which recently became legal, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's James Salzer. Leadership committees aren't subject to the same contribution limits that candidates are, which say donors can give a maximum $14,000 per candidate for statewide elections. THE PROCESS — Philadelphia election officials rejected a push for a forensic audit of the 2020 election from Trump ally state Sen. Doug Mastriano, The Philadelphia Inquirer's Andrew Seidman reported. Mastriano, who is expected to run for governor, had requested election-related materials from several Pennsylvania counties through his perch on a key legislative committee. In a letter, Philadelphia's board of elections and all three city commissioners said the city's elections are "fair and secure" and warned it would cost tens of millions of dollars to comply with Mastriano's request. THE GRANITE STATE — Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) sidestepped a question about Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's potential campaign against her during a TV interview that aired Sunday. Hassan was asked by WCVB if she had any advice for Sununu if he runs for Senate. "Gov. Sununu will make his own decision. I've been pleased that we've been able to work constructively on issues like responding to the pandemic. My job right now is listening to the people of the Granite State," Hassan responded. Sununu has said he will not decide whether to challenge Hassan until the fall or winter, although recent polling shows it would be a tight race. | 
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