NEWS:

• A challenger to Rep Mike Honda (D-CA) is already breaking fundraising records, even as a non-incumbent in a non-election year. Democrat Ro Khanna, a former Commerce Department official, raised $1.2 million in his first full quarter of fundraising – and according to his campaign, none of it came from self-funding, lobbyists, or PACs. (Washington Post)
• Say, haven’t we talked about this before? A slate of Republican candidates who narrowly lost in 2012 are gearing up again for the midterm elections, including Richard Tisei (MA), Martha McSally (AZ), and Mia Love (UT). They’ll be bolstered by fundraising efforts by House Speaker John Boehner and Rep. Paul Ryan. Meanwhile, the Dems have started running Pandora and Twitter ads to give Mike Obermueller (D-MN) his shot at a rematch. (POLITICO)
•  A new report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government examined federal “tail spend”, encompassing often-unnoticed spending outside of an agency’s core operations. The report suggests that increasing budget transparency could cut costs in the neighborhood of $64 billion to $128 billion for the Defense Department alone. (FCW)
• At the last minute before a Softbank acquisition of a majority stake in Sprint, a lobbying firm involved in the merger has registered itself and one of its lobbyists. Polsinelli PC registered yesterday, and the deal is expected to close today. (Roll Call)
• The General Services Administration announced yesterday the launching of a government reverse auction site. The reverse auction works by having business offer their prices for performing a service, and the lowest bid wins.The Department of the Navy will be the first to use the new platform. (FedScoop)