• At the state Republican Party convention in Cherokee, four of House Speaker Thom Tillis’ rivals in the GOP Senate primary contest made a public show of support for Tillis on stage. A noteworthy absence: Greg Brannon, who finished second in the race. Meantime, at the Democratic convention in Raleigh, tensions between the left wing of the party and its more moderate quarters arose, including a resolution opposing completion of the Keystone XL pipeline. The delegates oppose it; incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan supports it.
• In a feature titled “Races that will decide Senate control,” The Associated Press puts North Carolina’s in the top slot.
• A Wall Street Journal political blog notes that Republican candidates plan to make hay of President Obama’s prisoner swap involving Bowe Bergdahl and five Taliban leaders. GOP Senate nominee Thom Tillis said the circumstances surrounding the trade demonstrate incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan’s inability to serve “as a check” on the Obama administration.
• The campaign staff of 6th District GOP candidate Phil Berger Jr. is defending a tweet posted last week also taking the president to task for the prisoner swap.
• Libertarian Senate nominee Sean Haugh gains the attention of the Washington Examiner, which wonders if he could take enough votes from Tillis to give Hagan a second term.
