Who's calling the shots?
by Tom Sullivan
Several California U.S. House seats are rated toss-ups by Real Clear Politics and Cook's Political Report. CA-22 held by Devin Nunes of Fresno is not one of them, and is ranked a safe seat. Still, the sitting president might not want to take chances with losing his guard dog.
“Representative Devin Nunes, a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!” the sitting president tweeted in February. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle suggested that Donald Trump may yet venture into California ahead of November 6 to shore up support for California Republicans:
“Everything is on the table with the president and the party,” Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, told The Chronicle’s John Wildermuth while she was campaigning in Orange County with GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. “He has kept the last week of the campaign clear, and he’ll be where he is needed.”There is a point to make about turning that disapproval into removal for the Rohrabachers and Trumpers like Nunes, and not just in California.
Trump has come close to California in the last week, making campaign stops in Elko, Nev. and Mesa, Ariz., for Republican U.S. Senate candidates. But Trump is more popular in those states than in California, where only 27 percent of voters approve of the president’s job performance, according to a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released last week.
Furthermore, Bitzer shows Democrats surging ahead of Republicans in absentee ballot requests. Some of this may be the effect of hurricane victims' requests.Regarding NC accepted in-person ballots (that will be the majority of absentees): as has been noted over past few days, 2018 seems more of a 'presidential' year than a traditional mid-term.
— Old North State Politics (@oldnorthstpol) October 24, 2018
But, 2018's daily total is beginning to slip behind 2016's daily total#ncpol #ncvotes pic.twitter.com/qYWnV90SdF
On Monday, I mentioned a chart I'd seen comparing voting age population in North Carolina against early voting turnout by population. Last night, I built one (at top). The NC population curve is not dissimilar to the overall U.S. population curve.Now, 2016 & 2018 (as of 10-22): again, 2016 saw 1/3 of ballots on Election Day (could also be provisional/transfers on ED), but registered party divides evident in early voting again, with parity on Election Day.
— Old North State Politics (@oldnorthstpol) October 22, 2018
2018...seems...well...interesting, due to reg Dem pluralities... pic.twitter.com/W3U6imb4oj