Chuck Schumer was caught on a hot mic talking to President Biden. And he didn’t have anything good to say about Democrats and their chances during midterms.
In fact, Schumer was referring to the race in Georgia when he said things were “going downhill,” while seeming surprised that the debate didn’t do “too much” damage to the party. Although, I have to say, there comes a point when you just can’t sink much lower. I think Democrats have reached that point.
Schumer to Biden on the midterms:
“It looks like the debate didn’t hurt us too much in Pennsylvania as of today, so that’s good…we’re picking up steam in Nevada…The state where we’re going downhill is Georgia. It’s hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker.” pic.twitter.com/6fypr4BeY1
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) October 27, 2022
Business Insider adds:
Schumer’s candid evaluation was caught while he and Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York were huddling with the president in Syracuse, New York, where the president was touting his party’s economic plan. Warnock, who remains pastor of the legendary Ebenezer Baptist Church, has struggled to sew up his reelection against former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, a Trump-backed challenger. According to FiveThirtyEight’s weighted polling average , Walker is improving as Warnock clings to a narrow lead.
The top Senate Democrat was also overheard telling Biden that Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s shaky debate performance “didn’t hurt us too much.” Fetterman is trying to flip a seat against former TV doctor Mehmet Oz, but the race has grown tighter as Oz’s campaign assails Fetterman’s health in the wake of his stroke in May. Fetterman was open during the debate about how he might struggle due to his ongoing recovery, which is exactly what occurred.
Schumer also said the party is “picking up steam” in Nevada where Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto has looked increasingly vulnerable to former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s challenge.
Pundits view the Senate majority as too close to call even as they have increased the projected number of Republican House seats well past the number needed to flip that chamber. It is possible that the longest evenly split Senate in history could stretch into a new Congress in January.
Asked about the comments a spokesperson for Schumer emphasized the party’s optimism.
“Schumer believes the Democratic candidates will win,” Justin Goodmnan, a Schumer spokesperson, said in a statement.
But no matter what Schumer’s people say, the old man has been in Congress a long, long time. Thus, his experience should be good for something. He knows good and well Democrats won’t pull ahead, not this time.
The Final Stretch
Early voting is over in most states, and it’s clear that Republicans pulled out all the stops.
According to the New York Times:
Anxious and polarized Americans have swarmed early voting locations and returned mail ballots in droves, casting more than 32 million votes as of Thursday as turnout in most states keeps pace with the record levels of the 2018 midterm elections and voters navigate heightened tensions over the democratic process.
The high energy before Election Day, while offering hints of hope for both parties as they look to glean any signs of strength or weakness, reflects how the nation’s voting behaviors have entered uncharted terrain since the pandemic and the Trump-fueled chaos of the 2020 election.
Far more Americans now vote early or by mail, and far more Republicans now avoid mail ballots and vote in person — trends that have upended traditional voting models and prompted election experts and political operatives to caution against reading too much into this year’s early vote totals.
Still, everyone is eagerly digging into the numbers.
Republicans are largely faring better across the country, with early vote totals running ahead of their 2020 levels in battleground states like Nevada and Florida as well as in deep-blue states like California. But in states with major races for Senate and governor, like Pennsylvania and Arizona, Democrats’ early vote count is also around the same level or higher than it was two years ago.
The emerging picture — which is incomplete, because fewer than half of all states report vote totals by party registration — is of a midterm election with high overall interest, broad Republican enthusiasm and somewhat narrower Democratic intensity so far. The signs of a Republican advantage line up with polls showing the party on stronger footing in the campaign’s final days, riding a historically typical backlash to an unpopular first-term president and widespread voter unease about economic issues.
In other words, for those Democrats still holding on to hope, FAT CHANCE! You’re more likely to be struck by lightening and win the lottery on the same day than you are to see a Democrat pull out a victory speech on Tuesday.
