GOP House And Senate Candidates Are Sensing Defeat

I’ve already written that Marco Rubio looks to be running scared, trying desperately to hold on to his shrinking lead in the Senate race in Florida. And, just to show you how bad things are getting for him, he essentially got booed off the stage by a largely Latino crowd in Orlando on Sunday. Admittedly, the crowd in Orlando was predominantly Puerto Rican, a group that has largely been consistent Democratic voters. But it was still striking to see Rubio booed and it was clear that much of it was in reaction to Rubio’s support for Donald Trump, with one member of the crowd calling Rubio “a sell-out”.  The polls have been tightening lately and the most recent polls showing the race within the margin of error. If the Democrat, Patrick Murphy, does not pull this race out, the DSCC may deeply regret pulling out of this race earlier in the campaign.

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stood firmly behind Trump, saying, “We need to elect Donald Trump President”. All this tells me is that Republican leaders are increasingly concerned that they will lose the House and they believe embracing the party’s base is the only way to hold it, figuring they have already lost those independents and Republicans who are disgusted with them for playing along with Trump for so long.  On the Senate side, Richard Burr, the GOP candidate in North Carolina is taking the same tack, embracing Donald Trump when he claimed there is “not a separation between me and Donald Trump”. The Cook Political report has upgraded Democratic gains to 5 to 7 seats, enough to take control of that chamber. It noted that toss-up races tend to break as a group for one party or the other and, considering the cratering of Donald Trump’s support, those races would go to the Democrats.