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‘Nothing bodes well’...
Whoever wins in Ohio, there’ll be a rematch between Balderson and O’Connor on November 6.
That day, there’ll be 68 Republican-held House districts up for grabs that are more Democrat-friendly than #OH12 (per @CookPolitical).https://t.co/x8PhfG1SdN
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 8, 2018
Re the Washington Post, “Lackluster election results spark debate over Trump’s midterm role”:
A new round of lackluster showings by Republican candidates reignited a debate Wednesday within the GOP over whether President Trump will be a drag on the party’s chances in November and should stay out of some of the country’s most hotly contested races.
Inside the White House, Trump aides are mapping out plans for the fall that would offer a variety of options to Republican candidates, including visits by the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump to blue states and presidential tweets to bolster red-state allies.
But mounting apprehension about Trump’s political capital lingered in Washington and on the campaign trail.
In a flurry of elections on Tuesday — from the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, to the technology corridor in Washington state — Democrats turned out in droves and significantly overperformed expectations by posing serious challenges to Republicans in staunchly GOP districts.
Many Republican strategists viewed the results as a dark omen three months ahead of Election Day, saying they illustrate the limits of Trump’s ability to boost candidates, particularly in suburban areas where the president’s popularity has suffered.
Even in Republican primaries, securing Trump’s endorsement was not a guarantee of electoral success…
[Ohio’s] Balderson was far from the only Republican who underwhelmed on Tuesday.Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, failed to win 50 percent of the vote in a primary and will face Democrat Lisa Brown in November. Washington state has a nonpartisan primary process in which the top two finishers move on to the general election.
All year, McMorris Rodgers has been confronting pointed questions about her support for Trump’s policies…
In Michigan, where Democrats are aiming to take back the governor’s mansion, voter turnout set records, according to state officials, with more than 2 million votes cast — the most in the state since 1978…
New rating changes coming this PM to @CookPolitical:#KS02: OPEN (Jenkins) (R) – Lean R to Toss Up#KS03: Yoder (R) – Lean R to Toss Up#NY27: Collins (R) – Solid R to Likely R#OH15: Stivers (R) – Likely R to Solid R#WA03: Herrera Beutler (R) – Likely R to Lean R
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 8, 2018
AND FURTHERMORE…
In secretly recorded audio from a GOP fundraiser, House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said that trying to impeach Rod Rosenstein now could delay the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court pick.
Read more: https://t.co/iH3sxZQeEv pic.twitter.com/FsS4fPPRMs
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 9, 2018
Thursday Morning Open Thread: Bad Week for the RepubsPost + Comments (145)