Initial Reports Show Healthcare.gov Enrollment Lower Than Expected

“Republican activists in swing states say they have seen little sign of the teams tasked with knocking on doors and turning out infrequent voters on behalf of Donald Trump, raising concerns about the party’s presidential nominee relying on outside groups for an important part of his campaign operations,” the AP reports. “Trump and the Republican National Committee he controls opted to share get-out-the-vote duties in key parts of the most competitive states this year with groups such as America PAC, the organization supported by billionaire Elon Musk.” “It is difficult to demonstrate that something is not happening.

“The scandal engulfing Mark Robinson’s campaign for North Carolina governor seems career-ending to many in politics. At Donald Trump’s rally here this weekend, however, plenty of people weren’t bothered,” the Washington Post reports. “So what if Robinson, the Republican nominee for governor, is linked to a porn site user who once argued for the reinstatement of slavery, detailed an affair with his wife’s sister, called himself a ‘black NAZI’ and praised Adolf Hitler’s book ‘Mein Kampf’ as ‘a good read’?” Axios: Democrats see path to North Carolina victory following Robinson bombshell.

“Donald Trump said in an interview aired Sunday that he doesn’t think he will run again in 2028 if he loses the presidency in November,” Axios reports. Said Trump: “No, I don’t. I think… that will be it. I don’t see that at all.”

“Some Republicans are supporting Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s long-shot bid for the presidency, attempting to bolster a campaign that could siphon liberal voters from Vice President Kamala Harris,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The support, including from allies of former President Donald Trump, has Democrats worried Stein will be a spoiler for Harris in places such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Karl Rove: “Every presidential campaign wrestles with how to use its three biggest resources—money, issues and time. The last is the most precious. Campaigns can always raise more money or generate more issues. But they can never create more time.” “This is why Kamala Harris’s campaign wisely isn’t responding to many of Donald Trump’s attacks.

The short-term government funding bill that Congress will attempt to pass this week will keep federal agencies open until Dec. 20, Punchbowl News reports. House and Senate leadership expect to release the bill text at some point this afternoon. The Dec. 20 expiration date could set Congress up for a high-stakes lame-duck session of governing.