For Your Weekend Listening

“Political polls, betting markets and statistical forecasts have become ubiquitous as November approaches. But there’s one predictive tool you may have missed: primary elections in Washington state, which took place last month,” the New York Times reports. “It’s an indicator that election nerds pay particular attention to, for good reason: The general election results in the state a few months later tend to move in the same direction — whether becoming more Republican or more Democratic — as the rest of the country.” “This year, results from Washington state are cause for some optimism among Democrats.

Peter Wehner: “The GOP is a moral freak show, and freak shows attract freaks. Which is why Mark Robinson fits in so well in today’s Republican Party.”

“In the 2022 midterm elections, former President Donald Trump endorsed dozens of candidates down the ballot, positioning himself as Republicans’ undisputed kingmaker,” the New York Times reports. “But in the competitive races critical to his party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate, his picks all fell short — leaving the chamber in the hands of Democrats.” “This year, even with Mr.

“Brian Williams may have found his next TV-news job… except it won’t be on traditional TV,” Variety reports. “The veteran NBC News and MSNBC anchor is in late-stage discussions to host a live Election Night special on Amazon Prime Video.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a Trump rally In Michigan that Democrats spent “tens of millions of dollars” to make him “look like a crazy person.” Said Kennedy: “The Democratic Party spent tens of millions of dollars to defame me, to publish perjuries against me, to publish fake news against me, to marginalize me, to make me look like a crazy person.”

Nate Cohn: “Imagine, for a moment, that the latest Times/Siena polls in every key state were right on the mark. They won’t be, of course, but here’s the result you would get in the Electoral College: Harris 270, Trump 268.” “In terms of the electoral count, it would be the closest modern U.