美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ahead of midterms, there's a focus on Senate races in Pennsylvania and Nevada

Ahead of midterms, there's a focus on Senate races in Pennsylvania and Nevada

Transcript¹

Midterm elections are next month. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Republican strategist Scott Jennings about the Senate races in two key states: Pennsylvania and Nevada.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How do Republicans view their chances of recapturing Congress this fall? They are favored to make gains, as the party out of power often does. They need just a handful of seats to control the House. And as we'll discuss this morning, they need a net gain of just one to win the Senate. But it's been hard work to gain that one. Republicans remain favored, for example, to win a Senate seat in Ohio. But J.D. Vance slipped behind in some polls. And in a debate last evening, Democrat² Tim Ryan tied Vance to Donald Trump³.

(SOUNDBITE OF DEBATE)

TIM RYAN: Donald Trump said to J.D. Vance, all you do is kiss my ass⁴ to get my support. He said that. That's bad. I'm for Ohio. I don't kiss anyone's ass, like him. Ohio needs an ass-kicker, not an ass-kisser.

INSKEEP: Vance responded, that was a nice, rehearsed line.

Multiple Republican candidates are having a little more trouble than expected, yet they still do have a shot to get that one seat. So let's talk this over with Scott Jennings, who is a Republican strategist. Welcome back to the program.

SCOTT JENNINGS: Good morning. Thank you.

INSKEEP: Republicans have been pretty open about saying some candidates are weaker than they'd hoped on your side. But now we've seen some of them in action. We've gotten into the fall. How are they doing?

JENNINGS: Well, I think some are better than others, of course. J.D. Vance, who you mentioned there, in Ohio has come around. He had a slow summer. His fundraising has been rather slow since he won his primary. But it feels, to most Republican strategists, like Vance has moved into at least a small lead in a state that, candidly⁵, for us, is the best state on the map. It's the reddest of the target states.

INSKEEP: When we're talking about the six or seven where there's a tight race, yeah. And it seems like national Democrats⁶ agree with you. I believe national Democrats still have not spent a lot of money in Ohio, which suggests they don't think they can really win there.

JENNINGS: Yeah, the national apparatus⁷ is not. Although Ryan, the Democrat there, like most Democrat Senate candidates, has raised a tremendous amount of money. And that's one advantage for Democrats for the last several cycles is that their small-dollar donors⁸ around the country give directly to their candidates. On the Republican side, our small-dollar donors tend to give to Donald Trump. And so our candidates have, you know, candidate to candidate, less money to spend. And we've had super PAC spending to balance it out in Ohio, but the most efficient dollars in a campaign come right out of a candidate's committee.

INSKEEP: I'm glad you mentioned Trump there because, of course, a number of the candidates who are having trouble a little bit on the Republican side are people who've tied themselves to Donald Trump, which you need to do to win a primary. I think of Adam Laxalt in Nevada. I think of Blake Masters in Arizona. We could name some others. There are people who have needed to embrace lies about the 2020 election.

You're close to Mitch McConnell. He's been honest about the election. Donald Trump lost. Trump is still out there campaigning that he won, causing candidates to repeat variations on that. And that does raise a question for me. Why should Republicans who know the truth vote for someone who doesn't tell it?

JENNINGS: Well, Republicans are balancing a lot of issues in their votes. And even Republican candidates - I'm sorry, Republican voters, I think, that agree with McConnell, in your framing there, about the 2020 election are also looking at a country in which they do not agree with much of anything Joe Biden is doing or what the Democratic Congress is doing. And so it's not really a bunch of one-issue voters. It's a bunch of multi-issue voters who are trying to balance a lot of stuff. And on balance, they think Joe Biden's administration needs a check and balance. So in some cases, they're willing to support candidates that they may not have supported in the primary, but certainly think are going to be a roadblock to Biden for the next two years.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about one of those candidates - Adam Laxalt in Nevada. And he is somebody who gets categorized as an election denier to some extent. But Republicans are seen as having a real chance in Nevada. There's a large Latino vote in Nevada. And I know that Republicans have been going for a larger share of that vote. Do you see a real chance to add to your party's coalition⁹ there?

JENNINGS: Yes. Republicans are quite excited about movement in Hispanic voters toward the Republican Party. We've seen it in a few races already this year. And there's just evidence that working-class Hispanic voters, like all working-class Americans, are moving away from Democrats and moving towards the Democrat Party. Regarding Laxalt specifically, Republicans regard this as the top pickup¹⁰ opportunity. They think Laxalt's running a good campaign. So of everything on the map, this is numero uno, so to speak, for Republicans - Nevada. If they win that one and can hold serve everywhere else, they'll be home for the majority.

INSKEEP: You know, the Pennsylvania campaign has been very personal, of course. John Fetterman, the Democrat, mocked Dr. Oz for much of the summer for living actually in New Jersey¹¹. Dr. Oz has responded by talking about Fetterman's stroke. But let's get to the essence of the job here. Fetterman, at least, can make a case, although he's been criticized, that he's got experience in government. He's lieutenant¹² governor. He's mayor of a city. He's done various things. He's also been accused of not doing very much, but he has a record. What is the case that Dr. Oz - setting aside the personal issues and where he lives, what is the case that Dr. Oz is prepared to be a member of the United States Senate?

JENNINGS: Very simple. The case Republicans will make is that he's prepared to be a check and balance against Joe Biden, who's not overwhelmingly popular in Pennsylvania. And the case against Fetterman Republicans make is that he's just far too liberal, especially on the issue of crime. For the Republicans there, Oz has had persistent¹³ image issues since the primary. He was pummeled with attack ads - over 20 million in the primary spent against him. And so he's been trailing. But the issue that has reeled him in has been crime, and they've been pounding Fetterman on liberal crime policies. I think that race is, at this point, a toss-up. And again, if Republicans hold and can win either Georgia or Nevada, they're home for the majority.

INSKEEP: You mentioned one thing - that Joe Biden is not terribly popular in Pennsylvania or anywhere. If it were strictly¹⁴ a referendum on Joe Biden, Democrats might automatically lose. But the former president is in the picture and campaigning in a way that former presidents almost never do. How does that complicate¹⁵ things for your side?

JENNINGS: Yeah, he's not terribly popular either, and he has a unique property. He can motivate people to vote for and against whatever it is he's for. So remains¹⁶ to be seen on who's a more potent¹⁷ vote-getter or vote-turner-offer in Pennsylvania. But he does complicate the picture, no question.

INSKEEP: Scott Jennings is a Republican strategist. It's always a pleasure talking with you. Thanks so much.

JENNINGS: Thanks, Steve. See you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 candidly   

adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地

参考例句：

• He has stopped taking heroin now,but admits candidly that he will always be a drug addict.他眼下已经不再吸食海洛因了,不过他坦言自己永远都是个瘾君子。
• Candidly,David,I think you're being unreasonable.大卫，说实话我认为你不讲道理。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

11 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

12 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

13 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

14 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

15 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。