OFF TO THE RACES: Poll: Clinton leads Trump by 6 pts
The latest from a new NYT/CBS poll: "If the election were held now, 47 percent of registered voters would support Mrs. Clinton, versus 41 percent for Mr. Trump. Mrs. Clinton’s head-to-head advantage has narrowed somewhat since Mr. Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee: Last month, she led him by 10 points in a CBS News poll."
More: "The survey reveals that Republican voters are starting to fall in line with Mr. Trump now that he is their presumptive nominee — and that they expect party officials to do the same. Eight in 10 Republican voters say their leaders should support Mr. Trump even if they disagree with him on important issues. And unfavorable views toward Mr. Trump among Republican voters have plummeted 15 percentage points since last month; 21 percent now express an unfavorable view of him, down from 36 percent in April."
From the AP: "Hillary Clinton, seeking a governing coalition if she wins the White House, is pumping millions of dollars into key battleground states at the heart of her presidential map and Democrats' quest to regain control of the Senate. The Democratic National Committee and state parties are spending about $2 million initially to build coordinated campaigns in eight battleground states with competitive Senate races. The money is being raised by Clinton's campaign through her Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee that allows Clinton to raise large checks of more than $350,000 from wealthy donors."
POLITICO looks at the downsides of how Donald Trump is trying to expand the electoral map.
The downballot effect: "Hundreds of millions of dollars that Republican groups had been poised to spend in the 2016 presidential election are now increasingly likely to move into Senate and House races, as many big donors look to distance themselves from the party’s presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump," writes the New York Times. "These groups and their Democratic counterparts have already spent more than $25 million on advertising in Senate general election races alone, according to Kantar Media/CMAG, significantly outpacing both the 2014 and 2012 campaigns in outside spending. And more than $134 million in advertising for Senate races alone has been reserved by groups for the general election."
CLINTON: She said Trump is "not qualified" to be president.
Yes, she's winning the popular vote. And it's not close.
Clinton made sure yesterday to say she "will be" the party's nominee.
POLITICO takes a look inside the paid speech industry and how the Clintons harnessed it to make millions.
SANDERS: "In an attempt to head off an ugly conflict at its convention this summer, the Democratic National Committee plans to offer a concession to Sen. Bernie Sanders — seats on a key convention platform committee — but it may not be enough to stop Sanders from picking a fight over the party’s policy positions," writes the Washington Post. "Allies of both Clinton and Sanders have urged Democratic leaders to meet some of Sanders’s more mundane demands for greater inclusion at the Philadelphia convention. Their decision to do so is expected to be finalized by the end of the week, according to two people familiar with the discussions. But growing mistrust between Sanders supporters and party leaders have threatened to undermine that effort."
The Wall Street Journal notes that Harry Reid is caught in the middle when it comes to the fight over Bernie Sanders' persistent campaign.
TRUMP: In a speech at the NRA's national convention, he's aiming to calm gun rights supporters who may be worried about his past record, NBC's Alex Jaffe writes
Trump says those who don't think the EgyptAir crash was "blown out of the sky" yesterday, "you're 100 percent wrong."
A Trump delegate from Maryland has been indicted on weapons and child pornography charges.
He's expanding the role of top aide Paul Manafort.
Republican elites are lining up behind him, POLITICO notes. "While a small group of Republicans has wrung its hands raw over the choice between the GOP’s nominee and Hillary Clinton, the party’s firmament – social and intellectual conservatives, the lobbyist and donor class, powerful operatives and outside groups – is increasingly getting in line behind Donald Trump."
The AFL-CIO is out with a new digital ad hitting Trump for being bad for working Americans.