Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist, official guest host, and Faith and Freedom Coalition Tennessee Director Aaron Gulbransen in-studio and Capitol Resource Institute’s Karen England to weigh in on how Republicans are outperforming the Democrats and whether or not Herschel Walker can be saved in Georgia.
Leahy: In the studio, Aaron Gulbransen, formerly our lead political reporter, now the executive director of the State of Tennessee for the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
A couple of things on this trend, I think, that’s moving in the last four weeks of the midterm elections towards a Republican win in both the House and possibly the Senate: did you see the debate last night between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan?
Gulbransen: I did not. Well, I caught snippets, I didn’t watch the entire thing. The Republicans are outperforming the Democrats in these debates because obviously, we have the issues on our side, as it were.
Leahy: Yes. And in that particular debate, Tim Ryan, the Democrat who’s backed Biden just like 100 percent, doubled down on his desire to kill and confront the MAGA movement, including J.D. Vance. That did not play well.
Gulbransen: Masters did well in the recent debate, too, in Arizona against Kelly.
Leahy: He did. Now, what’s interesting about that is, if you look at the Senate, RealClearPolitics has this going on in terms of their projections. They project in Nevada that will be a flip from a Democrat; [Catherine] Cortez Masto is basically projected to lose to Adam Laxalt, the Republican.
He’s the son of the great Paul Laxalt, who is a Reagan guy. You lived in the Nevada area for a time, Karen. Would you say that Adam Laxalt is on his way to defeating Cortez Masto?
England: Absolutely. I was literally yesterday on the phone with someone with his campaign, because there’s a lot going on and I think some exciting things you’re going to hear coming out of Nevada, and I think it’s going to be quite the win.
He’s been trending up, and he actually was roommates with Governor DeSantis, I believe it was in college or when they were in the Navy.
Leahy: A Yale-ey?
England: Yes, from a big political family. His mother was the very first female lobbyist for the oil company a gazillion years ago. So, yeah, he comes from a deep-rooted political family.
Leahy: I think he’s going to win there now. So it’s 50-50. That would be a plus one. Aaron, you’re about to say something.
Gulbransen: I was just going to remark on, it almost seems like Ron DeSantis is the Kevin Bacon of politics, because I was having a meeting with a fairly high-profile person a couple of weeks ago and they mentioned how they went to law school with Ron DeSantis and that popped up several different times.
Leahy: Of course, the game is called what, six degrees of Kevin Bacon. And it started, it’s been around for, I don’t know, two decades, three decades. It turned out people were just kind of shooting the breeze one day and they all had some sort of connection to Kevin Bacon.
England: You didn’t know I did, do you? (Gulbransen laughs) He’s my cousin … no.
Leahy: Very good. Nicely played. All right, so now the Senate, 50-50. Right now, Kamala Harris, the master word-salad creator and worst vice president in American history, as far as I can tell, is the tiebreaker.
If it’s 51-49, if there’s a pickup in Nevada and then the Republicans have the majority, I’m looking at the projections of RealClearPolitics. They have Ohio projected to go to J.D. Vance, the Republican. That’s a hold.
They also are projecting a hold for the Democrats’ Raphael Warnock in Georgia. I’m not sure if that’s going to hold, although I have to say Herschel Walker has come under huge attack, and that’s very, very questionable.
What do you see going on in Georgia? Will the incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock hang on to win? Will all the attacks on Herschel Walker, including the attack by his son, Christian Walker, will they prevent him from winning there in Georgia?
Gulbransen: I think ultimately, at the end of the day, it’s how much does Governor Kemp beat Stacey Abrams in that election. And that will determine whether or not they can drag Walker across the finish line.
Leahy: So to drag Walker across the finish line in Georgia, how much does Brian Kemp need to defeat Stacey Abrams for governor?
Gulbransen: Probably at least by four.
Leahy: Now, that’s interesting. Same brain, because I was thinking five, but he might do that. He might be able to drag Herschel Walker across the finish line. Of course, the controversy there is now very well known.
Gulbransen: And I’ve just got to say, regardless of anything with that, his son has shown himself to be just a grifter.
Leahy: His son, Christian Walker.
Gulbransen: Daddy’s name was okay, and his connection with Trump was okay, until it wasn’t.
Leahy: And the allegation here, of course, Herschel Walker, through the campaign, he has had four children by four different women. And so that’s the allegation. The new allegation that came out through The Daily Beast, an anonymous woman said he paid for an abortion. He disputes that. That, of course, would point out to a certain level of hypocrisy.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Background Photo “Herschel Walker” by Herschel Walker.
