For months now, we've been hearing about the coming Republican 'red wave' that is going to sweep across the nation in November. But over the last few weeks, that narrative has changed. Why?
"Three things have happened to help Democrats" said Rice University political science professor Mark Jones, "One, it appears we hit a nadir in terms of the economy at some point in the mid-summer, throw in the Dobbs decision in June which should aid the Democratic party in mobilizing younger voters, and a renewed focus on Donald Trump."
It's been more than enough for the mainstream media, which is heavily pushing a Democrat comeback.
As for the GOP, despite a seemingly 'slam dunk' of issues to throw down in the Democrats face, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell made the stunning remarks last week that Republicans may not flip the Senate, due to a lack of quality candidates. That prompted some to question, are the Republicans trying to lose on purpose?
"Right now, Democrats are doing better in terms of fundraising, and still have a reasonable probability of actually keeping control of the U.S. Senate" Jones told KTRH, "And so what McConnell is trying to signal to Republicans, and donors in particular is, y'all need to step up and provide the Republican candidates in these 6 to 7 races."
So what about the 'red wave', we've been waiting for?
"I think regardless, Republicans are a virtual lock to take control of the U.S. House, the only real question is, by what margin" noted Jones, "But the U.S. Senate remains an enigma in the sense that it really boils down to 6 or 7 races, and whoever wins 4 of those 7 races, will have the majority in the Senate."
The countdown is on now, with less than three months to go until the midterms.