CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten on Tuesday argued that Democrats should “absolutely” want the midterms to become all about Donald Trump as polling shows GOP congressional candidates are outperforming the president.
“Democrats are down on their knees,” Enten said. “They’re begging, please, please, please allow this election to be about Donald John Trump.”
Enten, citing an aggregate of polls, highlighted that voters are feeling stronger about picking Republicans for U.S. House seats (41% in favor) than they are about Trump (37% approve of him).
He suggested that Democrats could see an opportunity here to boost their midterm chances, adding that the party maintains an over 6-point lead on average on the national U.S. House ballot.
The data guru has previously argued that Democrats need to take the national House vote by a margin of 3 to 4 points.
Elsewhere in his Tuesday segment, Enten noted that Democrats have an advantage (by a 27-point margin) over Republicans when it comes to those who want to use their vote for Congress to send a “message” about Trump, per the results of a CNN/SSRS poll shared in July.
Enten, when asked by CNN’s John Berman if Trump can attract more voters who are “not already with him” by making the midterms about him, swatted down such talk.
A strong majority of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (81%) who are “motivated” to vote in the election approve of Trump, said Enten, citing the recent CNN polling.
Trump has 58% approval, meanwhile, among GOP voters.
“So, if you’re going to motivate those Republicans on the sideline, the ones you’re more likely to motivate are actually those who are more likely to dislike the president of the United States,” Enten said.
“Again, this is why Democrats are begging, ‘Please, please, please, let’s make this a midterm about President Trump’ because the slew of data suggests that would be a very good midterm for them indeed.”