Bernie Sanders casts doubt on blue wave

[mystery-ak]

10/22/2018

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) thinks there is reason to doubt the predicted "blue wave" in next month's midterm elections, saying control of Congress will be decided by a few tight races.

“I know a lot of people talk about this blue wave and all that stuff, but I don’t believe it,” Sanders told “Rising” Hill.TV co-host Krystal Ball during an interview that aired on Monday.

Sanders said he believes that the outcome from Nov. 6 will be a “very, very close” situation, and predicts that only a “handful of votes” will determine whether Democrats are able to regain control of the House or Senate.

“We have an entity able to stand up to [President] Trump or we don’t,” the former presidential candidate said.

Sanders, who is rumored to be eyeing a 2020 presidential bid, made the comments while on the campaign trail stumping for Iowa Democrat J.D. Scholten. The first-time candidate and former professional baseball player is currently running against Rep. Steve King in Iowa’s fourth congressional district, which includes Sioux City.

more
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/412535-sanders-casts-doubt-on-blue-wave

[thackney]

Why Is the ‘Blue Wave’ Looking More Like a Splash Than a Tsunami?
https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/10/midterm-elections-democrat-blue-wave-predictions/
October 21, 2018

Every election people talk about an “October surprise” that upends the conventional wisdom about the outcome. Well, it appears we can see the contours of at least one October surprise. The Democrats have managed to shoot themselves in the foot with their handling of the Brett Kavanaugh nomination and the antics of their most extreme supporters. The “Blue Wave” that liberals have been waiting for may still come, but it’s more likely to splash the knees of most GOP incumbents than to submerge them.

Veteran political handicapper Charlie Cook puts it bluntly in his latest column at the Cook Political Report, in which he asks whether “those who led the out-of-control demonstrations on Capitol Hill against the Kavanaugh nomination have any understanding of how much damage they did to Democrats and the party’s chances of winning a majority in the Senate. His answer: “My guess is they don’t. But Senate Democrats probably do.”

Cook now says the odds of Democrats winning a Senate a majority are “long, no better than 1 in 5.” As of today, “a Republican net gain of a seat or two seems most likely, moving the GOP up to either 52 or 53 seats, though a gain of three seats or no net change [is] entirely possible.”

As for the House, political analysts still make the Democrats the odds-on favorites to retake control there for the first time since 2010. But while the new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll out today gives Democrats a nine-point advantage nationwide in voting for the House, it tells a different story in the battleground seats that will determine control:

The Democratic advantage has vanished in House districts that matter most. In districts rated as most competitive, the parties are dead even on which one should control Congress. In last month’s poll, Dems led by 13 points among registered voters and 6 points among likely voters.

In other words, Republicans have a real chance to beat the odds and hold their losses below the 23 seats that would transfer House control....