October’s Surprise May Not Resonate In November

Rick Klein: “The collective view from Democratic and Republican strategists on the fallout from the FBI director’s announcement: that could have been worse. While conceding that it will probably be another day or two until polling can fully reflect the impact, top strategists in both parties are saying the race didn’t get upended by the late-October surprise. It gave Donald Trump a crisper closing argument that will boost GOP turnout. It may make Trump likelier to carry Iowa and Ohio, and could save a few Senate seats for Republicans. But the narrowing of polls nationally and in other key battlegrounds doesn’t appear to have changed the stubborn electoral math confronting Team Trump. (It’s in that context, and that context alone, that makes trips to New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Michigan this week make sense.)”

“Yes, Trump is now leading by a point in the ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll. But recall the race was tightening quickly before Friday’s bombshell. While Clinton’s camp is calling on more information, and quickly, from FBI Director James Comey, it’s not clear that they should actually want that. If the story drifts away, the campaign continues over the final week – and Democrats still like their odds.”