ICYMI: Peters sees 52 Senate seats from his Harley Davidson [Axios]

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Axios: Peters sees 52 Senate seats from his Harley Davidson
By Hans Nichols
September 3, 2022

Key Points:

• Riding through upper Michigan on his Harley Davidson this week, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) surveyed Trump country and gamed out his own party’s chances in November. Democrats, he concluded, can still think bigger than holding the Senate — with a chance to expand their claim to 52 seats.

• Peters said… “The good news is that people don’t really like Republicans.” “Our goal is to protect our incumbents and go on offense in as many races as we can,” he said. “Fifty-two would be historic.”

• Peters — who won his own seat in 2020 by less than 2 percentage points — used his annual motorcycle tour to tout his party’s recent legislative victories but also talk to some of the reddest parts of Michigan.

• Peters’ roadside optimism stands in contrast to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has recently tempered his own party’s expectations as Trump-backed nominees appear to struggle in some general election races.

• But Senate leaders are bracing for… an onslaught of negative TV ads. “After Labor Day, there’s going to be an unbelievable amount of Republican money going against our candidates,” Peters said. “These are all going to be tight races.”

• Peters says a backlash to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade is giving Democrats an advantage in protecting incumbents in New Hampshire, Arizona and Nevada.

• As a survivor of tough races in a deeply divided state, Peters tells incumbents and challengers alike to hit the country roads. “It’s important to be in rural areas that have tended to move away from Democrats,” he said. “You’ve got to go all over your state, but don’t ever shy away from going rural.”

###