Weighing The Down-Ballot Election Effect In 2016

With guest host John Harwood.

Twenty sixteen and the down-ballot campaign. We’ll look at the key races and the big stakes.

Trump and Clinton grab the media attention. But the White House is only part of the fight for who will run Washington next year. Republicans control Congress now, but for how long? Could Trump’s problems help Democrats win the Senate, and even the House? We’ll ask strategists on both sides, and a Democrat challenging a Republican Senate incumbent in North Carolina.  This hour On Point, the Trump effect, down the ballot. — John Harwood

David Wasserman, U.S. House editor for the Cook Political Report. (@Redistrict)

Sadie Weiner, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. (@sadieweiner)

Chris Wilson, Republican pollster and political strategist. President and director of research, analytics and digital strategy at WPA Research. (@WilsonWPA)

Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC), Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Former State Representative for North Carolina's 34th and 38th House Districts. (@DeborahRossNC)

Paul Shumaker, senior strategist for U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). (@capcomminc)

New York Times: Democrats’ Weak Bench Undermines Hope of Taking Back Senate — "Senate Democrats, aware of the dead weight that Donald J. Trump has placed on their vulnerable Republican colleagues, can taste a reclaimed majority. But just as Senate Republicans blew their chances in 2010 and 2012 before finally taking control in 2014, Democrats find themselves hobbled by less-than-stellar candidates in races that could make the difference in winning a majority."

CBS News: How one Republican is navigating the Trump hurricane -- "The hero of this sizzling summer for Republicans is an unlikely one: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, in many ways Trump’s polar opposite. Yet the mild-mannered favorite of the Republican establishment has emerged as one of the few GOP Senators in a tough race who’s managed to stay above water."

New Hampshire Union Leader: Ayotte says she's an 'independent voice,' cites disagreements with Trump in contrast with Hassan, Clinton — "Pointing to her disagreements with Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, said Granite Staters will be hard-pressed to find instances where Democrat Maggie Hassan isn’t marching in lockstep with Hillary Clinton."