During a recent visit to Illinois to stump for Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, President Obama reminded voters of what the 2014 midterm election is really about. “I am not on the ballot this fall,” he said. “But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.”

It was probably not a wise thing for him to say, at least if he hopes to have his party preserve its Senate majority. Obama’s approval ratings are suffering badly in every state that has a competitive Senate race this year. In some states they are below 30 percent. According to a recent poll by YouGov, more than 50 percent of the voters in Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Alaska and Louisiana plan to cast their vote next month as a rebuke to Obama.