The Tri-City Heraldreports that “Republican polling firm Strategic Vision has a new poll out of 800 likely Washington voters showing that 47 percent” would vote for Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and 45 percent would vote for Republican Dino Rossi if the election were held today. “The poll, conducted last weekend, indicated 8 percent are undecided.” The same poll showed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., leading Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., by 48 percent to 37 percent in Washington state.

The Rocky Mountain News reports that Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., after vowing Monday to oppose adjournment for the August recess until the House voted on energy prices, arrived back from Colorado just a few minutes too late Wednesday to vote against the adjournment resolution — which was adopted, 213-212. Udall, who is running for the Senate, “was racing up the Capitol steps when voting closed.” His press secretary said he was “extremely upset” that the vote was not held open for him. “Dick Wadhams, campaign manager for Republican Senate nominee Bob Schaffer, said that Udall not only broke a promise, but that his non-vote was worse than had he voted in favor of the adjournment resolution. ‘It’s one thing to vote wrong, but to not even show up for the vote? Even by ‘U-turn Udall’s’ standards, that’s extraordinary,’ Wadhams said.”

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Illinois State Board of Elections has knocked another would-be challenger to Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., off the November ballot. “Independent candidate Allan Stevo’s nominating petitions to run for the north suburban 10th District congressional seat did not have enough signatures,” the board ruled. “Last month, the elections board removed Green Party candidate David Kalbfleisch of Arlington Heights, ruling that the party did not conform to legal procedures for placing candidates on the ballot.” Kirk, seeking a fifth term, still faces Democrat Daniel J. Seals, whom he defeated by 53 percent to 47 percent in 2006.