GOP

Republican Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, faces an uphill struggle to win his fourth Senate term from Kansas, say two polls over the weekend.

Four farm bill skeptics - Republicans Eric Cantor, Steve Southerland, Pat Roberts and Mitch McConnell - are having an ample share of electoral trouble, writes David Rogers at Politico. Cantor, the former House majority leader, was defeated in his Virginia primary election. Southerland, Roberts and McConnell face strong challenges in the general election. Politico notes there are unique factors in each race and the farm bill is a minor issue, if at all.

Sen Pat Roberts, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, won the Republican nomination for his fourth term, beating Tea Party challenger Milton Wolf, 48-41.

Rep Luis Gutierrez, long active on immigration reform legislation in the House, "declared the prospects for reform dead this year and said the only option left is for President Barack Obama to take unilateral action to stem deportations," says Politico.

The Republican Senate primary election in Mississippi "has become the nastiest, and most personal, in the nation," says the New York Times with one week left until election day. The race between six-term incumbent Thad Cochran, the Republican leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and state Sen Chris McDaniel "represents the last chance for Tea Party activists to topple an incumbent."

Two weeks ahead of the Republican Senate primary in Mississippi, a new poll puts challenger Chris McDaniel ahead of incumbent Thad Cochran, the GOP leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee, 43-40, with 15 percent undecided. The poll of 505 likely voters is the first in six weeks and was conducted last week, says Pollster.

The House's spending bill for USDA in fiscal 2015 includes provisions sought by some farm groups and by GOP conservatives. The House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture is scheduled to vote on the bill this morning. The draft makes white potatoes part of the WIC food basket; USDA wanted to exclude them on grounds WIC recipients get enough starch.

The $84 billion tax "extenders" bill was shelved, at least temporarily, by a GOP filibuster. A motion to limit debate on the bill failed 53-40 with 60 votes needed for passage. Republicans said they were not getting enough chances to offer amendments. An energy efficiency bill was derailed early this week for the same reasons.

Democrat Mark Pryor, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, leads Republican challenger Tom Cotton, 51-40, in an NBC/Marist telephone poll of 1,174 registered voters in Arkansas, with 7 percent undecided and 2 percent backing someone else. Margin of error +/-2.9 percent, says Pollster.

Florida Republican Mario Diaz-Balart tells Roll Call that the campaign for immigration reform is picking up momentum in the House.

The heat-and-eat "spat" could lead to Republican attempts to end the Low Income Energy Assistance Program and so-called categorical eligibility for food stamps, especially if the GOP gains control of the Senate...

Mike Conaway of Texas, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, said he began the footwork last year to succeed Frank Lucas as chairman of the Agriculture Committee in 2015.

Michigan Republican Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he will retire at the end of this term.

The fiscal 2015 budget resolution proposed by House Budget chairman Paul Ryan again calls for converting food stamps to a block grant program run by states.

House Budget chairman Paul Ryan will propose converting food stamps into a block grant program for the states to run, Roll Call says in a preview of Ryan's budget resolution for fiscal 2015.

The New York Times says GOP leaders in the House, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor and six committee chairs, face Tea Party challengers in the primary elections.

RollCall says about two dozen House Republicans are on record in support of the principles for immigration reform unveiled by their leaders a month ago and three dozen are against it.

In FERN’s latest story, in partnership with The New York Times, reporter Ted Genoways explains how Tim Walz, the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee, is taking the fight to Republicans in rural America.