Today's Updates: Wednesday, July 31, 2013

• Arkansas Senate:  "Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) plans to announce a Senate bid next week, challenging incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in a state that is considered a top pick-up opportunity for Republicans, a source confirmed to POLITICO Wednesday.
  
  
  The freshman congressman, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a star among neoconservatives and could serve as a major counterweight to the more libertarian voices of the Senate, including Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz."  Also, some Senate prognosticators have now moved the Arkansas Senate race from "Safe Democrat" to a toss up.
  
  Read more at Politico.
  
  
  
• Wisconsin:  As far as I know, there are no recent announcements of people challenging notorious Republican Governor Scott Walker for the governor's mansion, but many, many people in Wisconsin continue to be unhappy at the corruption and the autocracy that Walker and his Republican henchmen have brought to Wisconsin, the birth of the early 20th century Progressive movement.
  
  The latest is that the capital police are arresting people for singing while protesting in the capital.  One of those involved, Kimi Ishikawa, posted this note, with historical context, at Facebook.  
   
• Kentucky Senate:   This politcal ad actually brought tears to my eyes.  Alison Lundergan Grimes, the current Democratic Kentucky Secretary of State, is challenging Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, for his Senate seat.  This one will be tough for the Dems to win, and the prognosticators have Kentucky in the "Likely Republican" column.
  
  Watch the ad (and read the story) HERE, and then see what big gun is helping Alison HERE.