Congress is gone until after Election Day. Before members ditched town, we caught up with the top congressional leaders to ask them the same three questions. We wanted to know what their biggest strengths and weaknesses are going into the final stretch of the election. We also asked them about the election dynamics they think are not getting sufficient coverage.
Here are their responses. They have been lightly edited for brevity.
Speaker Mike Johnson:
Biggest strength: “Our biggest strength is the quality of our candidates. It’s not about the quantity of cash. We did a really deliberate job about candidate recruitment. We have amazing people in these general election runoffs and all of that.”
Biggest weakness: “I would say the level of misinformation that’s out there. I feel like the entire establishment media, mainstream media, obviously, is against us and our candidates. Kamala Harris gets an in-kind donation on prime time on almost every channel, every single night. And they’re constantly criticizing our nominee for president and elevating her and so that has an effect on people who are not fully informed.”
Undercovered dynamic: “Really, I think Kamala Harris has run a campaign based on a fantasy. And if this election is about record and not rhetoric, if it’s policy not personality, there’s no way that our side can lose.”
“Kamala Harris never answered the first question she was asked in the debate: ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago.’ She can’t answer that because everybody knows the answer. I think Donald Trump is going to far outperform the polling and I think I think our entire slate of candidates will. I’m very bullish.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:
Biggest strength: “House Democrats have consistently governed in a common-sense manner and delivered real results for everyday Americans. On the other hand, the House Republican majority has been the least productive in modern American history and has delivered on its own nothing more than chaos, dysfunction and extremism.”
Biggest weakness: “The tremendous track record of accomplishment that Democrats, under the leadership of President Joe Biden, have been able to achieve is not fully appreciated to the extent that it one day will be, at some point down the road.”
Undercovered dynamic: “The toxic connection between extreme MAGA Republicans in the House and Trump’s Project 2025 agenda.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer:
Biggest strength: “Our candidates are strong and have done so much for working families in their states.”
Biggest weakness: “Lies, misdirection and disinformation from the other side. Democrats have accomplished so much — lowering costs, growing the middle class and protecting our democracy and freedoms. But far too many on the other side have lost their sense of shame and will say anything, even lies, to distort and distract.”
Undercovered dynamic: “Senate Democrats passed historic legislation, doggedly worked to implement them and are now working for American families to feel the impacts for themselves. From expanded broadband, new bridges, tech hubs, revitalized highways, better care for veterans, lower energy costs, new jobs and lower prescription drug prices — our candidates made this a reality and Americans across the country are now reaping the benefits.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:
Senate Republicans are heavily favored to win back the majority. McConnell — who will be stepping down as Senate GOP leader at the end of this Congress — declined to talk to us for this story. But McConnell has been open about his hopes and concerns heading into the late stages of the race. Here’s what we can take away from those comments.
Biggest strength: The map. McConnell has been cautiously optimistic about his party’s chances of retaking the Senate. With West Virginia almost certainly flipping to the GOP, Republicans need to win just one of the Senate battlegrounds to have an outright majority next year.
And while Democrats are talking up their chances of flipping a GOP seat this year, that’s going to be a tall order. Last week, the DSCC announced an ambitious effort to unseat Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Republicans panned the announcement as a colossal waste of money.
”I don’t think they’ve got a shot at any of our incumbents,” McConnell told us over the summer.
Biggest weakness: In the past, McConnell has been critical of what he’s seen as “candidate quality” issues that sunk GOP chances to win the Senate in 2022 and in previous cycles.
This time around, McConnell has praised the current crop of recruits as “really quality candidates” and credited NRSC Chair Steve Daines’ early intervention in primaries.
Still, McConnell has voiced concern about the GOP moving further right. In an interview with us in August, McConnell signaled he plans to remain engaged in helping to halt the GOP’s rightward drift on foreign policy especially.
Undercovered dynamic: McConnell has been increasingly vocal about Democrats’ desire to gut the legislative filibuster. McConnell talked about this a lot last week after Harris came out in favor of a filibuster carve-out for abortion rights.
We also spoke with Senate Minority Whip John Thune about this. Republicans’ argument on the filibuster boils down to the argument that Democrats’ willingness to gut the filibuster would make it likely that historical norms would be upended should the Democrats win.
