It's 2026 and Senate Republicans are worried about Barack Obama.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee sent supporters a message Wednesday morning with the subject line "Obama plots Senate takeover." The email urged readers to "brace yourself" and "read the emergency report."
"After an election forecaster called the House a 'DONE DEAL' for the Democrats… Obama now turns his sights to the United States Senate," the NRSC wrote.
The message then admitted something the party rarely says out loud this close to an election.
"It was long believed there was no possible chance Democrats could flip FOUR SEATS in order to seize the President's Senate Majority," the email said. "But alas, here we are in the final stretch of the election with Obama betting EVERYTHING on flipping the Senate."
The committee pointed to an NBC News headline, "Obama boosts Senate Democrats with October fundraiser," as evidence of the former president's plans. It also claimed that Obama is out to deliver a "knockout punch to President Trump," and that last month he was "meeting with his handpicked Democrat Speaker of the House."
The email went further still.
"Republicans are DOWN BY 8% in midterm polling," it said. "Without your support, we will LOSE BIG!"
The NRSC didn't say which poll it meant or which forecaster had called the House a "done deal."
The email went out the same day Axios published leaked audio of Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton telling donors and lobbyists that the Iran war and gas prices were weighing on his campaign. It came hours before Trump took to Truth Social demanding that Paxton's Democratic opponent, James Talarico, "immediately report to a Debate Stage."