-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Incumbents2 Poised3 For Big Wins Despite All The Attention On Outsiders
play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:46repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser4 to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
This is a presidential election year like no other, as we keep hearing, and it could turn out to be a pretty big year in congressional politics too. Voters go to the polls today in Florida and Arizona to nominate candidates in two of the year's most competitive Senate races. NPR congressional reporter Susan Davis is here to give us a preview of these primaries. Good morning.
SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE5: Good morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: Let's start in Arizona where John McCain is seeking a sixth term in the Senate, and he's facing, for him, something of a competitive primary race, isn't he?
DAVIS: He is. You know, McCain is favored to win his primary today. He's facing a challenge from former state Senator Kelli Ward6, who has run at him from his right. In the closing weeks of the campaign, she's run a really aggressive campaign. She's called McCain old and weak. He turned 80 yesterday, so that his age has been an issue in this campaign. Although making age an issue in a state where many of the voters are retirees is not always the best strategy. So he is favored to win.
He's going to face Democratic Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick in the general election. And, you know, as you said, this is going to be a tough race for McCain. He's in a very difficult position where he needs to not alienate7 all of these Trump8 voters who elected Trump in the presidential primary there but maintain enough of that McCain mainstream9 appeal to win swing voters in November.
This is going to be one of the more competitive Senate races. It's also a bit of a firewall for Republicans. They really need McCain to win if they have a chance to hold onto the Senate. If he loses, there is no doubt that Republicans are losing the Senate.
MONTAGNE: Oh, well, so turning to Florida, there's Marco Rubio, and he, of course, had repeatedly said he was giving up his Senate seat. But after losing his shot at a presidential run, Rubio changed his mind, which, I gather, energized10 Republicans fighting to keep control of the Senate.
DAVIS: Exactly.
MONTAGNE: So how's he doing?
DAVIS: He's doing well. You know, he decided11, as you said, he wanted his job back after all. And when he got back in, it got most of the Republicans out of that primary except for a wealthy businessman named Carlos Beruff, who has also challenged Rubio from the right. The problem that Beruff has is that Rubio has been endorsed12 by Donald Trump, and he's been endorsed by many tea party groups. So that really took a lot of oxygen out of his campaign. Rubio is going to - you know, on the Democratic side, they also have a primary today.
There's two congressmen facing each other. The favored is Patrick Murphy over Alan Grayson. Grayson has faced a number of ethical13 challenges, and Democratic Party leaders do not want him to win the nomination14. Murphy's favored. A Rubio-Murphy race would be one of the most competitive races this fall. As of right now, Rubio's running a little bit ahead of Murphy, but this is going to be a top Senate race.
MONTAGNE: And there's another high-profile Democratic race in Florida. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was recently pushed out as Democratic National Committee chairwoman, she is facing a serious challenge from a more liberal rival who is aligned15 or was aligned with Bernie Sanders. Does her challenger have a chance?
DAVIS: Probably not, but this race has become more about a proxy16 war between the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders divide in the Democratic Party. As you said, she's angered many progressive activists17 who have flooded this race and helped her opponent raise $3 million. Her opponent is a guy named Tim Canova. He's a political newcomer. He's never run for office before, and he's got a lot of buzz.
But the reality is this district still heavily favors the incumbent1. It's an older district. It's a whiter district. It has a high, sizable Jewish population that Wasserman Schultz has remained incredibly close to. And this is a district that Hillary Clinton won by nearly 40 points in the March presidential primary. So this is still a place that is reflective of her and her district, and she's favored to win. And if she loses, it would probably be the biggest upset of the year.
MONTAGNE: OK. Well, lots to keep an eye on today. Susan, thanks very much.
DAVIS: Thanks for having me.
MONTAGNE: That's NPR congressional reporter Susan Davis.
1 incumbent | |
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 incumbents | |
教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 ); 教会中的任职者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 poised | |
a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 browser | |
n.浏览者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 alienate | |
vt.使疏远,离间;转让(财产等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 mainstream | |
n.(思想或行为的)主流;adj.主流的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 energized | |
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 );使通电 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 endorsed | |
vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 );在(尤指支票的)背面签字;在(文件的)背面写评论;在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 ethical | |
adj.伦理的,道德的,合乎道德的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 nomination | |
n.提名,任命,提名权 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 aligned | |
adj.对齐的,均衡的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 proxy | |
n.代理权,代表权;(对代理人的)委托书;代理人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 activists | |
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|