Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Tied in Three Key States

The first battleground state general election polls are upon us and Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida in a new Quinnipiac University survey. Both candidates are viewed unfavorably—to a historic degree—and are underwater on almost every key metric, from trustworthiness to “cares about people like you.” While it’s still very early to draw conclusions about the general election, the poll reveals a massive gender split and a wide racial gap in the three states, setting the stage for a bitter campaign this fall.

Ted Cruz may be out of the GOP presidential race, but his supporters make up a large bloc of convention delegates and he intends to exert his influence. Cruz backers are organizing to maintain control over the rules and platform committees, ostensibly to maintain conservative planks. But in controlling the committees, the Cruz backers could cause all sorts of trouble for the presumptive nominee. Meanwhile, Trump’s feud with a leading evangelical leader revealed a split in the conservative religious community over the GOP standard-bearer.

Clinton’s campaign strategy is to be boring but serious campaign speeches and policy proposals, as she looks to contrast with the bombast and insults of her GOP rival. But in an election year where both candidates are well defined, Clinton will have to do more to convince her harder-to-turn-out base to go to the polls: capitalizing on their fear of Trump.

Clinton’s super PAC plots a troll army. London’s new mayor fires a shot at Trump. And Jon Stewart is back.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Donald Trump’s Feud With Evangelical Leader Reveals Fault Lines
The Conservative evangelical movement is divided like the GOP, TIME’s Elizabeth Dias writes

Ryan Says He Would Step Down as Convention Chair If Trump Asks
Believes GOP unity is possible with time [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

Ted Cruz Backers Seek to Control Convention Platform
Cruz maintains large blocs on key committees, and he’s going to use them [New York Times]

Be Nice to Hillary Clinton Online — or Risk a Confrontation With Her Super PAC
Clinton backers invest in trolling [LA Times]

How Hillary Clinton Plans to Win Through Boredom
It’s boor vs bore [TIME]

How Donald Trump Is Running to the Left of Hillary Clinton
Praising Sanders, Trump seeks to chip away at Clinton’s base [Washington Post]

Sound Off

“I’m going to let him run his campaign however he chooses. I’m going to run my campaign.” — Hillary Clinton to reporters Monday repeatedly declining to address Trump’s charge that she “enabled” her husband’s treatment of women

“There will always be exceptions.” — Donald Trump to the New York Times on his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.

Bits and Bites

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Religious Extremism, Brexit and Donald Trump [TIME]

Police Report Reflects the Ugliness of the Trump Era [Washington Post]

Former ‘Stop Trump’ Megadonor Switches Sides [Politico]

Ted Cruz at a Crossroads as He Returns to the Senate [New York Times]

A Q&A with John Weaver, Chief Strategist Behind the John Kasich Presidential Campaign [Cleveland.com]

Donald Trump, in Switch, Turns to Republican Party for Fund-Raising Help [New York Times]

The Real Ben Rhodes: Spin Doctor or Decision-Maker? [TIME]

Donald Trump Says Sadiq Khan, New London Mayor, Could Be Exception to His Muslim Ban [New York Times]

Jon Stewart Goes on Rant Against ‘Man-Baby’ Trump [Politico]