The Senate was a different story—and it seemed as if the Republican leadership decided to go on summer vacation, doing virtually nothing to help cash-strapped candidates after the primary season. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) became Eeyore, declaring the likelihood of a Senate Republican majority slim due to candidate quality issues.

The defeatism was palpable, as with the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s soporific attitude toward regaining control. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who chairs the NRSC this cycle, did more to boost his profile than his party. One huge point of contention is how Scott reworked how funds from the campaign war chest were allocated; Mitch has been unhappy with him since at least February.

Now, pro-Trump PACs are starting to pour cash into these races, but these candidates, many of them backed by the former president, should have the support of the leadership from the get-go. Instead, the party wasted an inordinate amount of time on a swampy, pissing, and whining match about the primary results. There’s no time to relitigate these fights because the GOP now has an opportunity to retake the Senate as the Labor Day shock wears off.

There’s nothing wrong with taking time off from this stuff. You are all fortunate because by the end of most election cycles—we’re all reaching for the bottle by 10 AM. The consumer price index report that set Wall Street ablaze recently was a sledgehammer to the face of voters, brutally reminding them that inflation is still corroding their home budgets. The economy is in recession, and the media-driven hysterics over abortion have peaked.

As we all suspected, the left-wing rage over abortion, the Supreme Court, and the Dobbs decision were localized to the portions of the country already dominated by Democrats. The economy, crime, education, and schools are the top-tier issues of concern for voters, so much so that the Pennsylvania suburbs are reportedly ready to turn their backs on Biden. Navigating these areas where elections are decided in the Keystone State has been perilous for many Republican candidates, akin to Odysseus trying to avoid Scylla and Charybdis. Get too close to either monster—and you’re dead. The GOP’s track record in Pennsylvania winning statewide contests says it all, though some candidates, like Pat Toomey and Tom Corbett, have done well enough to secure a victory. Trump was able to split Bucks County, which will be essential for Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz to clinch if he wants to defeat Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

Fetterman enjoyed the summer months way ahead of Oz, but his stroke recovery hasn’t done him any favors, as he hit the campaign trail showing more voters that he might not be healthy enough to serve as a US senator. He can’t deliver the talking points without sounding nonsensical. It’s not his fault, but his stumbling on the stump and his appalling agenda for public safety—he wants to abolish life sentences for murders and empty one-third of PA jails—has led to Oz quickly chipping away at his once-double-digit lead in the polls. Fetterman, on the trail, has shown PA voters why they shouldn’t vote for him.

Democrats can expect more pain on election night if the GOP can hold Pennsylvania. The critical debate between Oz and Fetterman later this month will be the High Noon showdown that will probably put the finishing touches on the race. PA Republicans are planning on holding an impeachment vote in late October against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who Fetterman endorsed for re-election, for dereliction of duty amid a spike in violent crime in the city, especially when it comes to gun violence. It will bring one issue that’s proven effective against Fetterman front-and-center.

Nevada appears to be another state where Democratic troubles have gone under the radar, maybe because it’s the stuff of nightmares for the left. Latino voters are not keen on sending incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, the first Latina elected to the Senate, back for a second term. They’re staying home, directing their apathy to the lackluster economy and quality of job opportunities. It’s not that they’re for Republican candidate Adam Laxalt, but staying home does benefit the GOP. Latinos seem geared to be picked off by the GOP if it continues to reach out to this crucial voting bloc that has become dissatisfied with the left’s culture war extremism and political correctness. Pronouns, pseudointellectual lectures on privilege, and trigger warnings don’t create jobs, fatten paychecks, or put food on the table.

The Republican Party should consider itself lucky since it was mostly the Democrats’ ideological rigidity that pushed them into our camp. It’s incumbent on the GOP not to waste this opportunity, especially since South Texas is primed for a GOP takeover after nearly a century of Democratic Party dominance. The same signs of a massive voter shift were seen in Florida as well—both states saw movement toward the GOP in the double-digits; Trump quintupled his level of support along the border counties from his 2016 performance.

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. The left thought they could hang onto the life jacket called abortion, but that’s not what average Americans care about—we don’t obsess about killing babies like liberals. The kitchen table issues are in the spotlight, which liberals would know about if they supported families, bothered to read a poll, or ventured out past the bougie confines of urban America. Instead, they’re addicted to their insufferable self-righteousness, which they consume like Soma or Hunter Biden hitting a crack pipe.

The summer mirage has lifted, and things still look good for the GOP. The red wave could be forming again.