Playbook: “Six months from today, America will wake up to a new political reality. Nov. 4 — the morning after the midterms — is the moment Democrats expect the next phase of retaliation against Trump 2.0 … and the moment optimistic Republicans, at least, believe the president and his allies in Congress will be newly empowered to finish the job.”

“Right now, the mood among rank-and-file Republicans is desperate…”

“Today also marks six months on from the disastrous off-year elections that laid bare the scale of Republicans’ plight. Since then, the dominant storylines have been ICE chaos in Minnesota, a partial government shutdown, and the war in Iran. You’ll struggle to find a GOP strategist who would’ve picked that as a defensible position…”

“There’s still no sign of the president showing the message discipline that Republicans need from their most powerful megaphone. “

“Senate Republicans say the dysfunction in the House is becoming a liability for the broader GOP brand ahead of this year’s midterm elections, warning that if Congress can’t break through legislative gridlock the party’s candidates will pay a severe political price in November,” The Hill reports.

New York Times: “Democratic officials added eight candidates on Monday to a list of top contenders in congressional midterm battlegrounds, wading into a handful of contested primaries to make clear the party leadership’s preference in some of the country’s most critical districts.”

“The additions by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to its ‘Red to Blue’ program bring the number of candidates on the list to 20. The initiative primarily focuses on seats that party leaders believe they can flip. The designation typically offers candidates a significant fund-raising lift from donors.”

“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) secretly helped a Republican state treasurer’s 2024 reelection bid after the official’s Democratic opponent had criticized Shapiro as a potential VP pick, a close Shapiro ally said last week,” Axios reports.