S15 EP196: Hour 1 - Where Things Stand in the Final Days and Why Undecided Voters Break for the Incumbent

Erick opens Open Line Friday with the state of play in the U.S. Senate, explaining why late undecided voters tend to break for the incumbent party and why he still thinks Republicans hold the Senate even as early voting in Georgia, Texas, and Kansas looks grim for the GOP. He breaks down the polling averages for James Talarico, Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers, Roger Marshall, Ossoff, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, takes Brooke's call from Atlanta, pays tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart, and argues that voters take away your power to fight the culture war once you break their economy.

• Senate races 2026: why undecided voters break for the incumbent party, Cook Political Report's call for a 25-seat Democratic House gain, and Erick's prediction that Republicans keep the Senate
• The Washington Post and George Mason University Kansas poll, Roger Marshall vs. Adam Hamilton, and why Democrats answer pollsters at twice the rate of Republicans
• Georgia early voting, Rick Jackson, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Ossoff, and the case for leaving one line blank but still voting for every other Republican
• James Talarico, Abdul El-Sayed, Mike Rogers, and the Democrats' new "smiling warriors" message, plus Nancy Pelosi pushing back on El-Sayed
• Tributes to Patrick Stewart and Captain Picard, tariffs and Georgia farmers (Vidalia onions), and the Obama "love your neighbor" pivot