Cook Political Report national editor Amy Walter said in an interview that aired Wednesday that suburban districts where President Trump is most unpopular are key House battleground areas.
“Where the battleground is for the House, especially, is in the places where the president is the most unpopular,” Walter told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
“So this is no longer about winning Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan electoral votes. This is, can he win in suburban Chicago? Can a Republican win in suburban Chicago, suburban Orange County, suburban Dallas, suburban Minneapolis,” she said.
“That’s why the House looks so different from where the Senate and the red states are.”
On Tuesday, two weeks before the midterms, election handicappers at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted eight House races toward Democrats and two toward Republicans.
The election forecaster has rated 72 Republican seats and only five Democratic seats in the House as at risk ahead of the November midterms.
Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to win back control of the lower chamber.
Walter said that while Republicans are struggling in House races, Senate races are more likely to be in their favor due to Trump’s popularity in those states.
“Where is the president the most popular? In the Senate states,” Walter said. “I think a rebound of the president in a place like Indiana [or] Missouri really helps Republicans there.”
— Julia Manchester
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