CONGRESS/GOP/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republicans who for years have represented some of the safest congressional seats in their party are suddenly under intense pressure in 2018, with Democratic challengers threatening to overwhelm them in suburban districts where President Donald Trump has struggled. One of those districts belongs to Rep. Steve Chabot, an 11-term Republican who has gone years without a serious challenge in the southwestern corner of Ohio. He has been outraised — and, some Republicans say, outworked — by Democrat Aftab Pureval, the 35-year-old clerk of courts in Cincinnati-centered Hamilton County, who argues that the congressman has lost touch with a diversifying, suburbanizing district changing beneath his feet…And Chabot is not alone. A growing Republican fraternity that includes Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of California, Leonard Lance of New Jersey and John Culberson of Texas, who have served a combined 80 years in Congress in traditionally Republican areas, are dusting off their campaigns for the first time in a decade in a treacherous political environment. Chabot has faced tough races before — he lost his seat in 2008 and then won it back in 2010. But he has not been challenged since the Republican-controlled redistricting process redrew the district the next year.”
–Elena Schneider, “Once-safe GOP seats threatened by blue wave,” Politico, August 21, 2018 5:10 pm