Why Republicans Are Playing Defense in the Final Week of the Midterms

Eight days to Election Day, and it’s everybody, everywhere, all the time. Kurt Bardella and Erin Maguire read the tea leaves of the closing campaign blitz: Trump and Vance working reliably red states, Obama and Clinton stumping for David Jolly in Florida, and Kamala Harris sent to Detroit. Kurt explains why Republicans have conceded the House and are trying to contain the bleeding in the Senate, and why Andy Beshear’s nightmare is a narrow loss in Texas. Plus: is Maine a blue mirage, or is Susan Collins the one Republican who can survive a wave? And Obama’s “Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory” line forces the most important question of the cycle: Cheesecake Factory, friend or foe? Then the early vote. Erin voted in Alexandria, Virginia, turnout is running hot in much of the country, and Detroit is running soft. Is this a wave, or just new voting patterns in the most expensive midterm ever? Kurt argues there are no persuadable voters left, and Erin explains how good campaigns track the early vote and chase every last ballot. Last, closing messages. Kurt writes the Republican closers for Susan Collins, Ken Paxton and Mike Rogers, and Erin answers for Troy Jackson, James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed.