According to recent media commentaries on the midterm elections, Republicans are teetering on the edge of disaster. Where most observers had been predicting a big Republican win as recently as mid-July, many of the “experts” are now rushing to count the GOP out, even though the election is still over a month away.

Leading election analyst Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight gave Democrats a 70 in 100 chance to hold the Senate in his recent and widely reported forecast. Other analysts are likewise now projecting growing Democratic strength. The impact of these dire predictions can have a significant impact on fundraising, volunteer enthusiasm, voter turnout, and resource allocation if party supporters accept as fact that the Senate is already lost.