Dems 'pinching themselves' after new poll reveals strong support in red state: reporter

Democrats are “pinching themselves” as increasingly competitive Senate races force Republicans to pour money into states they once expected to easily defend, a political analyst said Monday.

"They're sort of cautiously optimistic, in part because they've been disappointed in so many recent elections," Axios political reporter Alex Thompson said on CNN. “But I have to tell you, they’re beginning to really believe.”

Appearing on CNN's “The Arena,” Thompson pointed particularly to Texas, a state that has long tempted Democrats only to leave them disappointed on Election Day.

“Texas is always the Charlie Brown football, Lucy, everything else,” Thompson said. “But in this case, Democrats are really believing that they actually might be able to turn Texas blue.”

Even if they don’t, Thompson said, Republicans are being forced to spend “tens of millions of dollars” defending territory including Texas, Kansas and Nebraska. He said new reporting reveals there have even been discussions about Republican spending in South Carolina as Republican Sen. Darline Graham struggles to defend the seat she filled following the death of Lindsey Graham in July.

Former DNC senior adviser Soledad Hinojosa said the battlefield has expanded into traditionally red states as voters remain focused on the economy, while tuning out Republican culture-war messaging

Former Republican House Speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry largely agreed with the grim assessment for his party.

“The environment is atrocious for Republicans,” McHenry said, calling the election “a referendum on the Republican Party and the presidency of Donald Trump.”

The North Carolina Republican added that Trump’s campaigning and GOP spending tell “the exact same story.”

“Republicans have a major challenge,” McHenry concluded. “Texas being the center of that.”