Trump Is a Gift for Democrats

Charlie Cook: “But even with the natural advantages that any Democrat should have in this election, Hillary Clinton is extremely vulnerable and this race should be winnable for the GOP. Using the RealClearPolitics averages of the major national polls, 41 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton, while 54 percent have a negative view. Those awful poll numbers can more than cancel out the Electoral College and demographic advantages that just any Democrat would have. If this election is simply a referendum on Clinton, she loses.”

“The fact is that if Republicans had nominated a potted plant or some other form of political placebo, they might well have beaten her. A fairly innocuous Republican like John Kasich would likely beat Clinton like a rented mule. But Trump’s negatives—in the RealClearPolitics averages, 35 percent see him favorably, 58 percent unfavorably—along with his habit of digging his hole even deeper mean that what should be a very winnable race for Republicans instead has become one dependent upon a cataclysmic event, perhaps an act of God, in order to win. That is never an enviable position to be in. Right now, it is looking more like a referendum on Trump.”