Has the FBI saved Trump?

“Two Fridays before Election Day leaves a lot of time for people still deciding and for voters to change their minds from what they may have been intending,” said Mark Serrano, a GOP strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns since 1987. “There is plenty of time, because there was already a shift underway, and so I think that shift will likely pick up speed.”

Indeed, a Washington Post/ABC News tracking poll released Friday morning suggested the gap between Clinton and Donald Trump had narrowed to just 4 points before Comey revealed the renewed probe into Clinton’s emails in a letter to lawmakers published later that afternoon.

The FBI reportedly moved to revisit its year-long investigation of Clinton’s handling of classified material after discovering new emails on devices belonging to Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner. Abedin, who served as Clinton’s deputy chief of staff at the State Department, had recently separated from Weiner amid a separate FBI investigation into the sexually-charged messages he allegedly sent a minor. It was that probe that reportedly led agents to the new, potentially classified emails.

“This news is like running a negative ad against the Clinton campaign non-stop between now and Election Day,” said Ron Bonjean, a GOP strategist and former top aide to Speaker Dennis Hastert and Sen. Trent Lott.

“The key for Trump is not to take the shovel away from the Clinton campaign. When that hole is being dug, don’t take the shovel away,” Bonjean said. “I think this will be a very, very close election now. This could give him a real shot at breaking through. But it’s anyone’s guess what could happen next.”

Trump quickly capitalized on the FBI’s announcement Friday, expressing his hope that law enforcement agents would “right the horrible mistake that they made” by closing the investigation in July without recommending charges for anyone involved.

Republican Senate candidates also worked to inject the revived email controversy into their races.

For example, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, who is locked in a virtual dead heat with Democratic candidate Jason Kander in Missouri, called on his opponent to “step down as a national co-chairman of her campaign.”

Brad Bannon, a Washington-based Democratic strategist, said Trump is “too far gone” to prevail over Clinton despite the FBI’s resurrection of her email probe.

But he said down-ballot races for the House and Senate, many of which are much tighter than the presidential contest, could experience shifts in the coming week.

“This could throw some dust up in the air and help Republicans retain a few seats,” Bannon said. “It’s not going to stop Hillary from winning this race.”

New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is presently fending off Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan in one of the country’s top Senate contests, highlighted Hassan’s past difficulty in answering questions about Clinton’s trustworthiness Friday in the hopes that her opponent will once again have to confront Clinton’s weaknesses.

It’s a problem that has plagued House and Senate candidates in both parties this cycle: answering for the misdeeds of the top of the ticket. Republicans across the country had just emerged from weeks of grappling with the allegations of sexual misconduct agains Trump when the FBI’s announcement offered them a welcome reprieve.

“Take a look at the eight committee chairmen that got that letter,” Serrano said of Comey’s dispatch to congressional Republicans Friday, noting two of the recipients — North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson — are engaged in “very tough” races.

“You can bet that Burr and Johnson are going to be talking about this and shouting this from the rooftops,” he said.

Bonjean suggested the FBI’s revelation could take some of the heat off GOP candidates who have struggled to answer questions about their relationships with Trump.

“It’s extremely helpful to them because it backs off the Democratic candidates against trying to tie them to Donald Trump,” Bonjean said. “They have to worry about answering questions regarding Hillary Clinton and her email problems, and whether or not they want to be affiliated with the president of the United States who’s under investigation.”

Comey gave little indication of what exactly prompted the FBI to revisit the investigation on Friday. However, agents reportedly discovered as many as several thousand “pertinent” emails on devices Abedin had used, raising questions about whether the longtime Clinton confidante had concealed evidence from agents during their first look at the case.

Abedin is the only aide to have used an address on the “clintonemail.com” network. What’s more, she was employed by the Clinton Foundation during her final months at the State Department through a personnel arrangement that allowed potential conflicts of interest to flourish.

Clinton attempted to ward off criticism of her penchant for secrecy Friday evening by holding a press conference from Iowa, where she attended two campaign rallies earlier in the day.

When news of her private email server broke for the first time in March 2015, Clinton waited nearly 10 days before facing the press.

“The next 48 hours are critical for the Clinton campaign to show they can do something they’ve never done well before — answer questions in a crisis,” said Sarah Isgur Flores, former deputy campaign manager for Carly Fiorina.

The reopened FBI investigation could indeed provide Clinton with a crisis by reminding voters of the controversy that, during a stretch last fall, appeared to threaten her claim on the Democratic nomination and roiled her campaign again this summer after Comey revealed the scope of her “extreme carelessness.”

“It’s a breathtaking development,” said Tom Fitton, head of conservative-leaning Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch has forced the administration through litigation to release a number of Clinton documents that have been integral to keeping pressure on the former secretary of state.

“In many ways, it’s an admission that [the FBI] didn’t do their job right to begin with,” Fitton said.

Republicans have excoriated Comey over the past three months for his refusal to recommend indictments in the Clinton case despite what appeared to be compelling evidence that aides willfully violated record-keeping laws. Hundreds of pages of FBI notes have only served to deepen ire among former FBI agents and most of Clinton’s critics over the bureau’s approach to the case.

To some observers, news that the FBI reopened the case Friday felt like a reset in a race that has nearly reached its conclusion.

To others, the development represented only the latest twist in an already unpredictable contest.

“It doesn’t reset the race, but it will give many independents and undecided voters pause about Hillary Clinton,” said Gianno Caldwell, a Republican strategist. “Hardcore Clinton supporters have already accepted the fact that Clinton is ‘corrupt,’ but they accept it because they view Trump in far worse terms. This new revelation tips in Trump’s favor and it has made an already close race, closer.”

Rick Tyler, former spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign, predicted the FBI’s announcement would have a “minimal” effect on Clinton’s chances — but warned that it could spell trouble for her down the road.

“It’s an interesting story, but I think it’ll have very little impact,” Tyler said. “It could make her first two years [in office] very complicated.”

Al Weaver contributed to this report.