If the Senate stays red, Republicans will have one man to thank: Anthony Weiner. More than half a million emails discovered on the disgraced New York Democrat’s laptop prompted the FBI to reopen their investigation of Hillary Clinton and dramatically shifted the election’s narrative.
While it’s unlikely the investigation will keep Clinton from taking the White House, the news is already affecting Democrat prospects down ballot. For Senate Republicans struggling to keep their seats, Weiner has offered a last-minute lifeline and supplied new political ammunition.
That’s because for the first time in a long time, the nation is more focused on a Clinton controversy than a Trump scandal. And now Republicans are going on offense.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., has been stuck campaigning between a rock and Trump in the Granite State. The New Hampshire senator was lambasted by challenger Gov. Maggie Hassan for her slowly evolving opposition to the celebrity candidate. But now it’s Hassan who is facing heat for her party’s presidential nominee. A new Ayotte ad pelts her challenger for “not being honest about Hillary Clinton’s dishonesty.”
And with a slim two-point lead, Ayotte’s opposition to Trump is now an asset. She can tell voters she was brave enough to call out her party’s nominee for unacceptable behavior. That’s something Hassan won’t do.
A similar story is playing out in Florida, where both Clinton and Barrack Obama have thrown their support behind Rep. Patrick Murphy in his effort to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio. All at once, the sharp attacks associating Rubio with Trump were blunted during a Sunday night debate. After Murphy made at least his 20th reference to Rubio’s tepid support of the Republican nominee, the incumbent shot back: “a noun, a verb, Donald Trump: That’s his answer to everything.”
Instead of letting Trump drag down another campaign, Rubio pivoted to Clinton, questioning her credibility after the FBI reopened the investigation. And thanks to Weiner, it worked.
Rubio’s lead is widening as Democrats’ strategy is crumbling. Pinning incumbents to Trump isn’t quite the silver bullet it used to be. After a year and a half, voters are numb to the nominee’s lunacy. They don’t want old soundbites. The electorate wants fresh details about a new scandal.
Weiner could even spoil Democrats’ efforts in Pennsylvania, where Clinton stumped for Katie McGinty last Tuesday. In a crowded gymnasium, Clinton asked if Sen. Pat Toomey “doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump after all this, can you be sure he will have the courage to stand up for you?” But that’s a stale attack from a candidate under increased scrutiny. It’s boring.
Now Toomey stands to gain the most because his opponent is battling her own email scandal, one that closely mirrors Clinton’s. Weiner’s revelation breathed fresh life into Toomey’s old attacks against McGinty, who has resisted turning over emails from when she worked as chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolfe.
In a new web spot by an outside group, Weiner slides into Clinton and McGinty’s messages to ask about “keeping phone stuff secret.” Racking up almost half a million views, it won the Internet this weekend.
Those cloud numbers might not translate into Republican votes. But they do put his opponent on defense, keeping her from building on a modest two-point lead. Now Toomey doesn’t have to talk Trump. He can just attack Clinton.
On its own, the email scandal won’t create a Red November. But it doesn’t need to. Instead, it gives vulnerable GOP incumbents some breathing room by letting them avoid some trickle-down Trump criticism. During the last news cycle before Election Day, Clinton will remain in the spotlight, giving Republicans room to maneuver.
Only one man could make that happen, a character named “Carlos Danger.” Republicans owe him their thanks.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
