GOP Fretting Over Vulnerable Incumbents, “We’re Doing Miserably in the Suburbs, for Senate Races”

Republican operatives admit that Gardner is “f—-ed,” Collins and McSally in trouble

New reporting from The Hill shows vulnerable Republican Senators are “nervous” as “some Republican incumbents are already seen as being on the chopping block.” GOP operatives see Senator Cory Gardner losing his seat as “all but decided” and are bracing for tough races featuring “high-profile Democratic challengers” in Arizona and Maine. Republicans’ latest round of Senate woes comes as the latest polling from Morning Consult shows President Trump’s “net approval rating has plunged in every battleground state” and Republicans admit that “Arizona, in particular, will be tough” for them.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

The Hill: Nervous Republicans focus energy on protecting Senate ‘firewall’

By Jordain Carney and Max Greenwood

August 27, 2019

• Senate Republicans have relished their power to sideline major Democratic bills passed by the House, including sweeping election reform and gun legislation.

• Republicans are defending 22 seats compared to the 12 in-play for Democrats.

• …some Republican incumbents are already seen as being on the chopping block. One GOP operative who has worked on Senate races predicted that Gardner, perhaps the most at-risk GOP incumbent, would lose his seat, saying his fate was all but decided.

• “Cory is a great guy and a great candidate, but he’s f—ed,” one GOP operative who has worked on Senate races said. “RIP Cory Gardner.”

• In turn, the operative said, Republicans would be forced to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into defending other vulnerable senators, notably McSally and Collins, who have already drawn high-profile Democratic challengers.

Axios: 1 big thing … Trump’s trouble: Approval sinks in every battleground

By Mike Allen

August 27, 2019

• President Trump’s net approval rating has plunged in every battleground state since taking office in January 2017, according to Morning Consult’s tracking poll.

• “If this economy falters, then I think he’s a goner,” a top Republican operative with access to well-funded polling and focus groups told Axios’ Jonathan Swan. “And I think the Senate will be in trouble.”

• “We have a growing issue in the suburbs,” the operative continued. “We’re doing miserably in the suburbs, for Senate races and Republicans.”

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