ELEX IS ‘GOING DOWNHILL’
Schumer caught on prez hot mic as midterms turn
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was caught on a hot mic telling President Biden Thursday that Democrats are “in danger” in at least one Senate race and admitting that the party is “going downhill” in the closely watched Georgia contest.
“That seat, we’re, we’re in danger in that seat,” Schumer could be heard telling the president on the tarmac at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
It’s unclear to which seat Schumer was referring.
“But you know, it looks like the debate didn’t hurt too much in Pennsylvania as of today, so that’s good . . . basically, we’re picking up steam in Nevada,” Schumer continued, referencing Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman’s poor showing in his first and only debate with GOP opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Biden could be seen crossing his fingers as Schumer delivered his assessment that Fetterman’s debate performance didn’t end his chances.
Seconds later, Schumer updated Biden on the state of play in the Peach State, where the latest average of polls from RealClearPolitics shows Republican Herschel Walker leading incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock by 0.6 percentage points.
“The state where we’re going downhill is Georgia. It’s hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker,” a shocked-sounding Schumer told the president.
Biden’s responses to Schumer could not be heard.
The top Senate Democrat’s frank assessment of his party’s chances came during a four-way gabfest that also included Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Gov. Hochul — who is facing a closer-than-expected contest against GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin as she seeks to win a full term.
Republicans are gaining ground in several swing-state races with less than two weeks until Election Day. Recent polls have shown tightening Senate contests in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia, among other states.
The respected Cook Political Report changed its rating of Arizona’s Senate race from “Lean Democrat” to a toss-up on Thursday, suggesting the GOP could flip the state. Meanwhile, RealClearPolitics’ adjusted poll average has Republican Blake Masters leading incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly by 0.1 percentage points, and the website lists the state as a likely “GOP pick up.”
Dominos falling
In Nevada, former Republican state Attorney General Adam Laxalt is up in the polls by an average of 0.5 percentage points over incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, according to RCP. Cortez Masto had trailed Laxalt by more than 2 percentage points in the survey average at the beginning of October.
In Pennsylvania, Fetterman is still ahead of Oz but the race has narrowed considerably, and the eyes of the political world will be on the first polls come in since the Oct. 25 debate, at which the Democrat struggled to give coherent answers to moderator questions as he recovers from a May stroke.
Biden campaigned with Fetterman in Pennsylvania last week, raising eyebrows by telling Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, that she would be a “great lady in the Senate” — appearing to imply that the candidate would be unable to serve due to his questionable health.
Biden will be back in Pennsylvania Friday night, when he and Vice President Kamala Harris headline a reception for the Keystone State’s Democratic Party in Philadelphia. The president will return to the state of his birth at least one more time, on Nov. 5, when he barnstorms the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh regions with his onetime boss, former President Barack Obama.