Voters in Ohio’s 12^th Congressional District will head to the polls today in the last special election prior to November’s midterm elections, as Republican Troy Balderson will face off against Democrat Danny O'Connor for a House seat that the GOP has held for 35 years. The district — previously represented by former Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Ohio Governor John Kasich — was largely perceived as an easy win for the Republicans given the seat’s longstanding GOP history and its R+7 Partisan Voter Index (PVI) rating by the Cook Political Report. However, recent polls have shown that the race has tightened to within one point, prompting massive campaign spending in the final weeks by GOP fundraising apparatuses. A Democratic win, or even a close loss, would indicate that Democratic House candidates have a significant advantage going into November’s midterm elections. Elsewhere, voters in Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, and Washington will head to the polls for primary elections today.

Following the passage of an appropriations minibus (H.R. 6147) containing the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Interior, and Financial Services appropriations bills — as well as the conference report for the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 5515) — Senate lawmakers have left Washington for a brief recess. The upper chamber will return on Wednesday, August 15th at noon and will seek to clear the nominations of Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. and Julius Ness Richardson to be judges on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court. The Senate is also expected to consider another appropriations measure that combines defense spending (S.3159) and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations (S.3158).

The Senate convenes today to deal with one of their most pressing deadlines — reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Senators will vote today on a bill (S.1182) that would extend the program through November, giving lawmakers in both chambers additional time to iron out a long-term funding bill that would reform the program and address debt concerns. The measure is expected to clear the upper chamber prior to the 11:59 p.m. deadline, ensuring that homeowners are covered through the end of this year’s hurricane season.

The Senate returns for another week of legislative work as it seeks to clear a host of priorities before heading out of town for an abbreviated August recess. Today, Senators will continue their push to clear the presidential nominations queue with a vote on the nomination of Britt Cagle Grant to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit. Following a vote on the Grant nomination, the upper chamber will then turn its attention to: (1) a four-bill appropriations minibus (H.R. 6147) containing the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Interior, and Financial Services appropriations packages; (2) a short-term funding reauthorization (S.1182) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP); and (3) approving the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report (H.R. 5515). Additionally, while a vote has yet to be scheduled by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the Senate is also poised to name its team of farm bill negotiators this week with a vote to go to conference with the House on the agriculture package (H.R. 2).

The House’s planned legislative schedule for the week has faced its first hiccup due to an intraparty divide among Republicans over a short-term reauthorization (S.1182) for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). A vote on the planned reauthorization for the program was pulled from the House’s suspension calendar yesterday due to differences between House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), with the former arguing that another stopgap measure for the program was financially unsustainable. The program — which is set to expire on July 31 — is $20 billion in debt and has been subject to intense bipartisan negotiations over a long-term reauthorization and reform bill, but those discussions have not advanced sufficiently to avoid the need for a short-term extension at the end of the month. The short-term reauthorization is on the House’s suspension calendar again today, but it remains unclear whether the Republican lawmakers will reach an agreement before this afternoon’s scheduled vote series. Given that the program expires July 31, flood insurance reauthorization is considered a must-pass bill for the House before it recesses at the end of the week.