Monday’s CBS Mornings kicked off a new week with an examination of their latest Battleground Tracker and a predictable question: What do we – as in Democrats – need to do to keep power? And, as per fill-in co-host Vladimir Duthiers and CBS News elections and surveys director Anthony Salvanto, it’s focus on abortion and Donald Trump to keep women – a key constituency – motivated to vote as, thus far, there’s no sign of “a red wave.”
Duthiers set Salvanto up with framing which showed that viewers were more interested in how Democrats might lose power and what they should do instead of Republicans winning power or having any kind of mandate: “Let’s talk the House. What could cause the Democrats to lose their majority?”
Nothing that the Battleground Tracker includes “voters in all these districts,” Salvanto revealed that CBS currently has Republicans at a 230-to-205 breakdown over Democrats.
“Now, the reason…is voters say what’s on their mind is the way they think things are just going in the country, and they think it’s going badly…[T]hose who think it’s going badly are breaking toward the Republicans,”He added.
He didn’t say anything at all about the current state of the economy. This includes inflation, poor wage growth and stock markets.
Duthiers replied by expressing hope for Democrats “So, it’s not a red wave, but a win is a win.”
Duthiers didn’t want to drill down on reasons why people are leaving the left or real issues like education and economy, but he wanted to find out if the January 6 hearings might help Democrats win them back.
Salvanto didn’t touch on the hearings, but he was more than happy to make a portion of the remaining segment all about abortion and how Democrats are supposedly losing steam because they’re not pro-abortion enough (click “expand”):
DUTHIERS: Let’s talk about the issues that could drive voters to the polls, Roe v. Wade, the January 6th hearings, could that help the Democrats?
SALVANTO – Alright. Let’s get started Roe vs. Wade. I looked in particular at women under 50 because they’re such an important part of the Democrats’ base. Well, for them, they’re saying the abortion issue is just as important as the economy and the inflation – and inflation. Now look at what’s going on with women registered voters generally. They think that a Republican majority would make things in the country worse for women more so than better. All of this affects the Democratic base cause Democrats need these votes. Vlad, now what? You look at the Democratic base saying that their party is not doing enough to protect abortion access, so Democrats still need to fire up that base and say they can do something about that issue they care about.
Duthiers held an unofficial session of the Democratic National Committee Strategy Session, in which they wondered if President Biden could be more involved to help them keep Congress. “Can the leader of the Democratic Party – that’s President Biden – can he drive voters to the polls?”
Salvanto briefly burst that bubble, pointing out that “Biden is a motivator, but a motivator for Republicans” with 62 percent of them saying he’s “on their minds” “a lot.”
However, the two went straight back to picking their progressive colleagues. This showed that 45% of all voters think Donald Trump will be on their minds come November.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats in this campaign keep talking about Donald Trump,” Salvanto added.
Nate Burleson was the host at the opposite end of the show. “I love the way he broke that down. Well done, fellas.”
CBS’s liberal pep talk was made possible thanks to advertisers such as Allstate and Amazon. Follow the links to see their contact information at the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant CBS transcript from August 1, click “expand.”
CBS Mornings
August 1, 2022
Eastern: 7:12 am[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: State of the Midterms; CBS News Polling on Political Trends Heading into 2022 Elections]
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: With the midterm election coming up, CBS News is bringing back its battleground tracker, studying all 435 races for the House of Representatives. CBS News elections and surveys director – that’s Anthony Salvanto – he is here for a closer look at the numbers. We are glad to have you here, man.
ANTHONY SALVANTO : It’s great to meet you, bud.
DUTHIERS, Let’s get down to the House. What could cause the Democrats to lose their majority?
SALVANTO: Okay, Vlad. So, let’s start with this – the current House, blue for Democratic seats, red for Republicans, and what happen folks should see is Democrats have this narrow majority, just over that 218 line that you need. Well, we talked to voters in all these districts. And when we put that together in the model right now, I’m going to show you how this just swings a little bit. You see some of these seats go over the line. That would give the Republicans control at 230 currently where things stand. Now, the reason for that – number-one reason, I’m going to show you, is voters say what’s on their mind is the way they think things are just going in the country, and they think it’s going badly. Now, how does it all play out? Well, they start to punish the party in power for that, and those who think it’s going badly are breaking toward the Republicans.
DUTHIERS So, it’s not a red wave, but a win is still a win. Let’s talk about the issues that could drive voters to the polls, Roe v. Wade, the January 6th hearings, could that help the Democrats?
SALVANTO – Alright. Let’s get started Roe vs. Wade. I looked in particular at women under 50 because they’re such an important part of the Democrats’ base. Well, for them, they’re saying the abortion issue is just as important as the economy and the inflation – and inflation. Now look at what’s going on with women registered voters generally. They think that a Republican majority would make things in the country worse for women more so than better. All of this affects the Democratic base cause Democrats need these votes. Vlad, now what? You look at the Democratic base saying that their party is not doing enough to protect abortion access, so Democrats still need to fire up that base and say they can do something about that issue they care about.
DUTHIERS: Can the leader of the Democratic Party – that’s President Biden – can he drive voters to the polls?
SALVANTO: Okay, I want to show a couple of things, Vlad. First of all, Joe Biden is a motivator but a motivator for Republicans.
DUTHIERS: Republicans.
SALVANTO: Take a look at this. 62 percent of Republicans saying that he’s a lot on their minds. This is another chance to get a bite of the apple. They – they lost in 2020, this is a chance to vote again. Typically happens in a midterm, but it’s less so for Democrats. So that’s part of trying to motivate that base. And here’s another part that I want to show you – take a look at the former President against the current one.
DUTHIERS: Wow. He’s driving voters, too, Donald Trump.
SALVANTO: He is just as much on voters’ minds as Joe Biden. And it’s positive for Republicans. They think he’s fighting for them, but for Democrats, they’re out there to vote against him. Wouldn’t be surprised if Democrats in this campaign keep talking about Donald Trump.
DUTHIERS (All right. Anthony Salvanto, always great to have you on set. Thank you, man. Nate!
NATE BURLESON: I love the way he broke that down. Well done, fellas.
About Post Author
