A number of Republican strategists have lamented that the Tea Party is doing more harm than good in this year’s elections, and a new poll shows they have reason to worry. According to The Hill/ANGA Midterm poll, a Tea Party endorsement makes Democrats significantly less likely to vote for a candidate, while doing little to increase Republican support.

Also from the Hill/ANGA poll is some good news for Republicans: in districts won by Democrats during the last presidential election, 83 percent of Republicans now say they are “very passionate” about voting in November, while only 68 percent of Democrats feel the same way. 91 percent of Republicans said they will definitely vote, compared to 85 percent of Democrats. 

More good news for Republicans: An Associated Press poll shows that working-class whites increasingly favor Republicans, and support has reached the level it was at in 1994, when Republicans took control of the House after four decades of a Democratic majority. 

• An ad by the National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsing West Virginia candidate John Raese has been pulled from the air, after Politico reported that the regular-looking people complaining about Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin in the ad were actually actors who had responded to a casting call “going for a ‘Hicky’ Blue Collar look.” 
• That’s certainly not the end of Republican ads, though. House Republicans are planning a $45 million ad campaign in the final weeks leading up to the midterms, and the National Republican Congressional Committee plans to take a loan of at least $6.5 million to expand its advertising presence. 
• Obama is making the short trip down to Maryland to reach out to black voters and encourage them to vote for Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is in a very tight face with former Gov. Robert Ehrlich. 
• Democrats contend that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is using foreign money to help Republican candidates, which would, of course, be illegal. The Chamber has denied the charges. The liberal group MoveOn.org will rally outside the Chamber’s headquarters Thursday. 
• The number of voters casting early ballots is up 50 percent over 2006, in part because voting early has become easier. The number of early voters, however, has forced campaigns to adjust their strategies. 

Timothy Egan predicts the elections: “Tough break about the Senate, though. If only you’d taken the sure Republican pickup in Delaware, instead of falling for the anti-masturbation-crusading, evolution-denying, witchcraft-dabbling innocent.” 

Reach news editor Alexandra Tilsley here.

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