DEMS/ELECTION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Phil Bredesen wants Tennesseans to know one thing: He won’t be the one to flip the Senate for Democrats. It’s not pessimism but self-preservation that tinges Bredesen’s assessment of the Senate landscape. An upset win in Tennessee could, in fact, put Bredesen’s party in the majority if Democrats were to run the table elsewhere, and the former governor’s path to victory depends on convincing voters that they wouldn’t be handing power to national Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Tennessee has grown downright hostile to Democrats since Bredesen, an avowed centrist, served two terms in the governor’s mansion: President Donald Trump won the state by 26 points in the 2016 election, and Democrats haven’t won a Senate race there since 1990. Early polls show Bredesen running close against GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn, but he needs a massive swell of independent and Republican support to actually win in the fall. And Bredesen knows his personal popularity could well crack under the strain of the rising partisanship that decides most Senate races. Yet Trump is likely to bring a fight to Bredesen, whether he wants it or not. The president has already traveled to the state once to give Blackburn a boost, and the Republican nominee said she’s invited him back, hoping Trump will make multiple trips to the state to warn voters about the national stakes. Republicans are counting on Blackburn to consolidate support in the party and deliver a win in a state few expected to be competitive a year ago. A win here cuts off Democrats’ path to the majority unless they carry every other competitive race on the map.”

–James Arkin, “Bredesen fights against red wave in Tennessee,” Politico, August 22, 2018 5:08 am