Steve Kornacki: “Arizona, Look Its Been 30 Years Since They Elected A Democrat To The Us Senate. The Most Recent Polling Has Kyrsten Sinema Up Four Points Over McSally. So Walking In To The General Election There, Certainly The Best Position A Democrat’s Been In 30 Years.” STEVE KORNACKI: “Talk about the trump and volatility factor, too, in looks like, and it is, mcsally won resoundingly. Show the numbers again and add up the other votes, close to 50%. We’ll tally and see how close they come. Mystery around the question, why wa Joe arpaio in his race in the first place? 86 years old. Just pardoned last year. 47%, add it up, still a considerable amount to come in. Some indications arpaio might have gotten in the race, folks around him who were on that trump side of the party who were disgruntled with Kelly ward. So what you basically did was, you saw a perfect split almost right down the middle of the trump wing of the party there that allows mcsally to come up and win. It is. 24-point margin over ward. Trump wing versus non-trump, almost at 50/50. The biggest factor in the race for mcsally, arpaio got in the race, split the vote well. Looking ahead to the general election, Arizona, look its been 30 years since they elected a Democrat to the US Senate. The most recent polling, Kyrsten Sinema up four points over mcsally. So walking in to the general election there, certainly the best position a Democrat’s been in 30 years.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 8/29/18; VIDEO]
Michael Steele: “So There Are A Lot Of Dynamics On The Ground Here That Are Going To Be Taking Shape And Forming This Race Between DeSantis And Gillum Which Could Have A Ripple Effect On A Bunch Of Other Races As Well.” MICHAEL STEELE: “Yes. Absolutely. Gillum could have the effect of pulling out a lot more of that democratic vote. In fact, if you peel back a little of the numbers and Steve has done a phenomenal job doing that over the last 18 hours or so, you’ll see that the young vote turned out. That there was a youth vote, if you will, that really coalesced around Gillum. With that along with other energies that are currently on the ground there in Florida, the anti-Trump feel and all of that, it could be a nice setup where you could have Gillum actually pulling and creating coattails for the Democrats up and down the line. Here’s the other side of that conversation, I think, you need to take into account as well. We don’t yet know fully what the full measure of the trump vote is in Florida two years later. And so I think that’s going to be something very interesting to watch, too. You’ll also have the overlay of race playing out in Florida along with the sort of the philosophical differences, if you will. So there are a lot of dynamics on the ground here that are going to be taking shape and forming this race between Desantis and Gillum which could have a ripple effect on a bunch of other races as well.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 8/29/18; VIDEO]
Steve Kornacki: “You Look At The States Trump Won Very Closely In 2016, Where Democrats Are Up In 2018… Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Democrat Incumbents For Senate Seem To Be In Good Shape To Very Good Shape.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 8/29/18; VIDEO]
Dana Bash: “The Thing To Really Keep In Mind, Also, Is That Candidates Really Do Matter. It’s Cliché, But I Think It’s Cliché For A Reason. Andrew Gillum Is Dynamic, He’s Exciting When He Talks, Obviously He Has A Tremendous Personal Story Of Coming Up From Nothing, And Talking About His Desire To Help People Who Have Similar Life Stories.” DANA BASH: “On paper, somebody like Graham, who is for lack of a better way to say it, Bill Clinton in the early ‘90s democrat, more of a moderate democrat, which on paper should work better than somebody more to the left in a state like Florida. In these times, you throw everything up and see where it lands. The thing to really keep in mind, also, is that candidates really do matter. Tt’s cliché, but I think it’s cliché for a reason. Andrew Gillum is dynamic, he’s exciting when he talks, obviously he has a tremendous personal story of coming up from nothing, and talking about his desire to help people who have similar life stories.” [New Day, CNN, 8/29/18; VIDEO]