McConnell says Republicans may not win Senate control, citing ‘candidate quality’.

Even though history strongly favors the party out of power — in this case the GOP — to make gains in midterm races, McConnell has long worried that subpar candidates could play into Democrats' hands.

While he didn't mention any names, there are examples across the country. In Pennsylvania's open Senate race, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its rating Thursday from "toss up" to "lean Democrat" as GOP nominee Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor, struggles against Democrat John Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor, who leads in recent polls.

Apart from Oz, Republicans have nominated numerous first-time candidates backed by former President Donald Trump in states such as Georgia, Arizona and Ohio to run against seasoned Democratic politicians. The Senate Leadership Fund, a group aligned with McConnell, recently bought $28 million worth of airtime in Ohio to support Republican nominee J.D. Vance. Recommended Donald Trump Judge says he's inclined to unseal parts of Mar-a-Lago search affidavit, orders government to submit redactions

The Republican Party establishment also failed to recruit preferred candidates in other states, like New Hampshire.

McConnell may be feeling déjà vu from 2010 and 2012 when his party fell short of capturing control of the chamber in part due to weak candidates such as Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Sharron Angle in Nevada and Todd Akin in Missouri.

Despite their woes with candidates, Republicans still have opportunities to add to their ranks. They need a net gain of just one seat to seize control of the Senate from the Democrats and effectively gain veto power over President Joe Biden's legislative agenda and nominees for top administration positions and judgeships.

Pot calling the kettle beige. Or something like that.

Turtle calling the tortoise slow r2

[quote]Pot calling the kettle beige

More like hematoma purple, r2.

Bullshit. McConnell is fully confident that he can flip the senate in November and will be spending hundreds of millions of dollars to accomplish his goal. It’s up to the American people to stop him.

Funny that McConnell says that Senate races are different. He's right, like the Kansas abortion plebiscite,

YOU CAN'T GERRYMANDER AN ALL STATE ELECTION.

McConnell knows he is screwed. Repukes have pulled cash from WI, MI, OH and PA Senate races. FL next?

It up to dark money.

God, I hope Tim Ryan beats that fat fuck JD Vance.

[quote] God, I hope Tim Ryan beats that fat fuck JD Vance.

I hope Tim Ryan wins the election as well as beating him.

Fuck off you closeted old sociopath.

Mitch's face is under what appears to be an extreme force of gravity. Maybe hell is trying to suck him down, and failing.

That is one hideous cunt.

PIECE OF SHIT SHOULD DIE

He looks like he has heartworm.

Lol R13. !!

Turtle, I hope we beat your Nazi Wehrmacht so badly in the mid-terms and in 2024, that your party's viability is less than Terri Shavio's, after her feeding tube was finally removed.

Candidate quality was never a concern before, so why now?

I hope Tim writes the Hillbilly Eulogy.

[quote] Mitch's face is under what appears to be an extreme force of gravity. Maybe hell is trying to suck him down, and failing.

R10 Hell will win eventually, and hopefully soon. Those of us on the side of civility and decency have waited more than long enough. Hey Satan, speed it up on this one.

Democrats need to hold several seats, and if they pick up a few more would enlarge their majority in senate.

Despite how things looked earlier this year, yes Mitch McConnell is right to be worried about quality of GOP candidates.

While still tight Warnock seems to be pulling ahead of Hershel Walker in Georgia senate race.

Unless something big happens between now and November Dr. Oz is going down in flames against Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

While still close Sen. Mark Kelly has a slight edge in Arizona senate race.

And so it goes...

In entire GOP crazy as bat shit states like Wyoming, a loon republican may win as senator, but as Mitch McConnell says in most other states things just don't roll that way.

Things will likely come down to what they always do; voter turn out numbers.

Piece from local NY news station pretty much sums things up. This includes fact that Liz Cheney's political career is effectively over. Unless or until there is a sea change in GOP opinion about Donald Trump in that state she will not win another election to national or state office far as Wyoming goes.

Fuck, Mitch looks 100 years old.

Is he on the death watch list?

Wow, who knew that putting up wannabe fascists and insane conspiracy theorists would drive away voters? Crazy.

I love how Aunt Pittypat said this right after the Dr.Oz/crudités hilarity. I still haven’t stopped giggling, especially after Fetterman’s response.

Of course the subpar candidates are backed by Trump.

Democrats from all walks of the part are energized seemingly out of nowhere.

In my area the Ukraine flags and support got a lot of people into the political sphere for the first time which has led many to register to vote for the first time.

Don't trust this guy. Do not, even for a second, believe the Dems "have it in the bag" and stay home at the midterm election. Destroy these motherfuckers and vote.

[quote]While still close Sen. Mark Kelly has a slight edge in Arizona senate race.

Kelly has about an 8-point lead according to recent polls, not a "slight edge."

McConnell is just trying to rile up the Republican base and make them prove him wrong (as well as ding Trump with the "quality" remark). Let's get out and prove him right.

It must feel weird to have your chin touching the top of your tie all the time.

That gives me the willies.

McConnell said: Senate races are just different — they're statewide

Translation: We aren't able to gerrymander that shit out of Senate races like we do in the house.

[quote] “As of June, the committee disclosed spending just $23 million on ads, with more than $21 million going into text messages and more than $12 million to American Express credit card payments, whose ultimate purpose isn’t clear from the filings.”

[quote] One senior GOP strategist working on Senate races: “The way this money has been burned, there needs to be an audit or investigation because we’re not gonna take the Senate now and this money has been squandered. It’s a rip-off.”

[quote] More, from the strategist: “If they were a corporation, the CEO would be fired and investigated.”

_____

Fred Wellman:

[quote] So Senate Republicans decided to put a guy who had to pay millions in fines for stealing from his company in charge of their campaign funds and are now shocked to learn he has spent their money in questionable ways.

[quote] I mean...it's so on brand but...come on!

it is shocking that at this point McConnell might be considered quite left of most of the GOP candidates running for office

I still think Val Demings may be able to switch Florida - not guaranteed, but if she plays up her law enforcement background, maybe ...

[quote] Real Clear Politics is showing Lee at +5 over McMullin.

[quote] In 2016, Lee won by 41 points.

Women across this nation will enter the voting booth and say, fuck 'em, all Democrats.

Not a Blue Tsunami, the fundamental tectonic plates of American politics are shifting.

Blue Earthquake!

I think you are right, R35.

Overturning Roe was a huge mistake -- for the Republicans.

[quote]Right now, we have a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 country, but I think when all is said and done this fall, we’re likely to have an extremely close Senate, either our side up slightly or their side up slightly

My what a bold prediction 🙄

The title of this thread is a hilarious bigtime.

😂

If Tim Ryan wins his race, then he'll be on the Democrats' short list for a future presidential run.

Fetterman enlisted Snooki to troll Dr Oz.

That’s odd.

Does Oz have plugs or just a bad dye job?

Something is going on in that thatched mess.

Tim Ryan attends Toledo Pride.

That's a difference between the Democrats and most Republicans.

For what it's worth, Chuck Schumer with his daughter and her (now) wife.

Cory Booker officiating for one of his staffers:

I would cackle with glee at seeing Marco Rubio lose to a black woman.

Now, what can we do to keep the House?

Outside of voting, r48, I don't know.

[quote]If Tim Ryan wins his race, then he'll be on the Democrats' short list for a future presidential run.

Yeah, yeah ...

Is he melting?

Snooki is from Upstate New York. Her Jersey thing is entirely put on.

R30 Bingo.

The GOP is getting crazier by the minute and hopefully turning more and more voters off.

Trump says f.u.

CHY

NA

The Senate is 50/50. The country is 60/40 for the liberal side. Fucking cheating, piece of shit Repugs.

[Quote]“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they're statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,”

This is where I get troubled by a lack of questioning from reporters. They should have asked him to clarify how candidate quality should matter in ANY race, from town clerk to POTUS, and everything in between?

I'm certain his neck sack contains tadpoles.

Warnock up by only 4 pts is alarming. Walker can still pull it off if Dems don’t turn out to vote. The Republicans pretty much took away or severly limited the options Dems used in the past, like voting by mail, drop off boxes.

I often wonder if McConnell secretly hopes the Dems will win so that he can use that against Trump, and his followers.

Trump pissed at the Turtle.

Fuck the media turning elections into nail-biting "sport events". Do your research using legit sources to make sure your vote counts.

I agree, r35/r36. Hopefully we'll get a blue wave this election, the Roe v. Wade debacle has pissed off so many people and they're furious at Republicans.

Sad (but not surprising) that Charles Booker is not a member of this group. Rand Paul is such a failure as a human being.

On the plus side, there's still a chance that Independent Evan McMullin can upset the equally odious Lee...(I hope)

About that "candidate quality" . . . who wrote this headline about Marco Rubio?

[quote] With less than three months until the November elections, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee appears to be in a more formidable financial position, with $54.1 million cash on hand, well more than double the $23 million left in the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s account.

Well, with paying all Trump's legal bills, the Repug party has to do with the leftover pennies, R66! Poor little Repugs. Unfortunately, I still think they'll cheat their way into power.

This reeks of fear

Is anyone else never able to see mobiletwitter links like at R68?

II can see it.

Democrats will increase their hold on the Senate. They'll lose the House, ensuring that the public can continue to blame Republicans for legislative gridlock and incompetence, especially if McCarthy becomes Majority Leader and Trump continues to pull strings and make a nuisance of himself. If this happens, the Democrats should make a very big deal of the lopsided vote that produced it: in all likelihood the Republicans will take the House with a minority of overall votes, because of gerrymandering.

Little chance of her being elected, but trollery like this is fun while it lasts:

[quote]Is anyone else never able to see mobiletwitter links like at [R68]?

I'm having issues too with those links too. I think it's supposed to be mobile.twitter and either the poster is entering the link incorrectly or DL isn't recognizing it for some reason. If you copy the link and add a period between mobile and twitter you get something but I'm not sure it's what the poster intended to link to

I copied the link from r68 and added the period so we'll see if DL takes the link

If Democrats lose the House all investigations of Trump & co. will cease, and they will start endless, petty investigations into the Jan. 6th committee, the Mueller Report, the Bidens, Hillary... and they will try to impeach Biden.

So get all your queer, Progressive, pussyhat, Libertarian, #metoo, apolitical, pro-choice, etc. friends to vote Democrat- or we will all lose bigly.

It begins.

[quote] GOP super PAC SLF canceling $8m in ad buys in Arizona Senate race, about half its reservations. Will raise questions about GOP view of Blake Masters.

[quote] Group also cutting two weeks of ads for Murkowski; they think she’s in good shape.

I still hate Mitch McConnell with the heat of a thousand suns.

With ample evidence, this is now an espionage investigation of a former President of the United States. Mindblowing.

Why is political advertisement needed in a two party systems?

R78- What is mind-blowing to me is that he was ever allowed to hold any government office, much less POTUS.

Duty To Warn 🔉@duty2warn DOJ has the boxes.

Who has the pdf files?

This isn't an admission of anything.

It's a subtle, or not so subtle, manipulation and call to arms. He's either baiting people to prove him wrong or he's instilling fear that he's right, so they need to rally together and get control of the senate.

R80

Manafort gave Kilimnik/Putin internal polls so Putin would know where to get Trump 77k votes for an electoral college win even tho Hillary won. On election night Trump got secret exit polls BEFORE POLLS CLOSED showing he lost and where. Then 77k votes divided just right appeared.

In 2016^^^

[quote] Last September, Vance outlined this message of revolutionary conservatism on a podcast hosted by a rightwing activist and self-styled masculinity champion who once declared, “Feminists need rape.” During the interview, Vance called for returning Trump to the White House in 2024 so Trump could fire every top and mid-level federal government employee to “deconstruct the administrative state,” and he noted that Trump should even defy the law, if necessary, to mount such a purge.

[quote] ...as Murphy (whose real name is John Goldman)...

[...]

[quote] During the podcast, Vance explained his conversion to Trumpism after having been an opponent of the reality TV celebrity in 2016. He recalled that as a best-selling author and Yale Law School graduate he was “dumped into this elite world in a way that I never fully realized” and did “lose sight” of true American values until he “had this transformation in how I think about the American elite.” He came to believe that all elements of the upper reaches of American society were corrupt and controlled by the left. This includes corporate America. Talking to Murphy, he derided “woke capital,” insisting that “money in our society has gone in with the left on the culture wars.”

[...]

[quote] Vance recounted that he had been “really radicalized” by the mask mandates during the Covid pandemic. He maintained that compelling children to wear masks in schools was “actively malevolent and evil.” It had nothing to do with public health and safety, he contended: “This is all about control.” In fact, the mask mandates were a sign for Vance that the nation was nearly lost. The United States, he said, is in a “late-Republic” stage: “We’re very clearly close to a point where the people don’t have nearly as much power. The oligarchy has seized most of it. And it’s going to take a lot of very fundamental transformation to give the people anything like the power back.”

[quote] Vance essentially told Murphy that desperate times require desperate measures: “If we’re going to push back against it, we’re have to get pretty wild, pretty far out there, and go in directions that a lot of conservatives right now are uncomfortable with.”

[quote] Murphy responded by noting that “among some of my circle the phrase ‘extraconstitutional’ has come up quite a bit… We do need to take a much more aggressive stance… [I]f we want to…re-found the country back to its founding principles…we’re going to have to become a little bit more robust in our behavior.” Vance agreed with the need for a more confrontational approach: “That’s exactly right. I think that’s what’s so difficult about this moment for conservatives is that we love the country so much that we don’t want to admit to ourselves how far gone things are. I hear this from a lot of conservatives… It’s really time to wake up.”

[quote] Vance, whose Senate campaign has been financially backed by reactionary tech billionaire Peter Thiel, has generated plenty of controversy with assorted stances and comments.

In the quotations in R85, Vance is expressing pure fascism—not surprising when avowed anti-democracy billionaire Peter Thiel is funding him.

Wait!

Is Lil Marco's sugar daddy what Oz was talking about when he implied you should dip your celery in salsa?!?

Mitch is moving extra 30M into JD Vance's campaign's coffers which means that things are not looking very good for him.

Mitch is not happy with Trump's pick of candidates and is laying the groundwork for distancing the GOP from Trump if they lose bigly in the midterms.

Throwing worse money after bad.

Vance, in his own words..................

Curses, foiled again...