‘Armageddon,’ ‘Bloodbath,’ ‘Biden Presidency’: Republicans Turn To Fear—Instead Of Trump—To Defend Senate Majority

Topline

Republican Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) made a revealing pitch to voters in on Friday as the GOP fights to keep the senate majority despite President Trump’s considerable polling deficit going into the final stretch of the election, casting himself and his colleagues as a check on a “Biden Presidency.”

Key Facts

Key Background

With three weeks to go until election day, Biden enjoys a wide lead and steady in the polls, with a 9.6-point lead in the RealClearPolitics average and a 10.2-point lead in the FiveThirtyEight average, in addition to a slew of polls that give him healthy leads in pivotal swing states. The pitch to be a check on Biden resembles a pitch made by Republicans in 2016, when Hillary Clinton appeared to be headed for a certain victory. The NRCC pitched New York Republican Claudia Tenney that year as someone who would “stand up to Hillary Clinton,” while Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said “If Hillary Clinton is elected president, Arizona will need a senator who will act as a check, not a rubber stamp, for the White House.”

Big Number

5.2 points. That’s the size of Democrat Cal Cunningham’s lead over Tillis in the RealClearPolitics average—despite a late-race sexting scandal—, even as Biden only leads Trump by 1.4 points in the battleground state.

Crucial Quote

“The barrier has been breached. A Republican senator fighting for reelection says he and his colleagues are needed to check a Biden presidency. This is likely to spread,” tweeted Politico reporter Ryan Lizza.