National
Three Ring Circus and its Ringmaster: Unsatisfied with merely being the primary issue in many competitive races, NBC News reports that the Donald has decided he must be *the* issue. POTUS has put himself front and center at every turn, whether it’s pretending he will send 15,000 troops to the border, claiming that he knows the 14th Amendment better than members of his own party in a late October surprise unpalatable in swing districts, or tweeting out a Willie Horton redux ad.
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend: The slough drowning Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon County) inspired The Economist to examine the popular narrative that 45 is changing coalitions, and it concludes that he largely has not. Most Republicans like him, despite their not being able to point to a major legislative win outside of tax reform, because he “has the right enemies.” Therefore, the magazine concludes, this negative partisanship, “more than Mr. Trump’s nationalism, populism or chauvinist dog-whistling, is the essence of his divisive appeal.”
Congress
IA-04: Last night on “Slow-Burning Dumpster Fires,” Rep. Steve King (R-Stormfront) shouted down a man who questioned whether his immigration views were similar to the Synagogue shooter’s. Taken as a standalone incident, King might be justified in his response. However, as the Washington Post points out, in the context of King’s long history of racist behavior, this incident deserves scrutiny.
The House: RRH friend Sean Trende lays out a state-by-state scenario in which Republicans hold the House….