FRIDAY: "Multiple paths," the Cook Report says!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2026

Unless you're watching Fox: Who will control the Senate next year?  

We have no idea. If we were somehow forced to bet, we'd bet that the GOP will retain control, but it seems to us that old rules of thumb concerning such predictions have never seemed quite so old.   

In yesterday morning's report, we reported this new fact:

El-Sayed is ahead by seven—unless you're watching Fox!  

That bit of whimsy concerned one part of the clowning which had occurred on the previous day's edition of The Five. 

Leave it to the children! During their discussion of a recent statement by Chuck Schumer, Emily Compagno was incoherent and Harold Ford was an embarrassing mess, with Dana Perino ruling the roost. 

Along the way, we noted the fact that even if Michigan falls, observers have begun to say that there are now several ways Democrats could imaginably end up in control of the Senate.   

Today, Sarah Rumpf discusses this state of affairs over at Mediaite. Headline included, her report starts like this:   

Cook Political Report Finds Democrats Have ‘Multiple Paths’ to Take the Senate  

The Cook Political Report updated its ratings for the upcoming midterms, predicting that Democrats now have “multiple paths” to take back the Senate majority, especially with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) dragging down Republicans.

The GOP’s grasp on majority control of the House and Senate hangs in the balance this November, and political prognosticators and pollsters have been highlighting several states that are in play, including the Lone Star State, where Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D) is facing off against Paxton to succeed the incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). 

[...]  

The new shifts, [Cook's Jessica] Taylor said, mean “there are multiple paths now for Democrats to Senate majority,” so even if they lose tough races in Maine or Michigan, for example, they could still take the Senate.

It was “still a very narrow path” and Cook was now rating the overall Senate majority as a Toss Up, said Taylor. It “still might slightly favor Republicans,” she continued, “but it is an increasingly competitive opportunity for Democrats.”   

The Cook Report isn't always right. But that's what the Cook Report says.

Like the performers on The Five, we have no way of knowing what will happen in November. Unlike the silly stars of The Five, we do know how to describe what Chuck Schumer recently said to the Washington Post.   

Overall, the clowning on The Five is an undisguised assault on the very possibility of the American project. Last night, we forced ourselves to watch a large chunk of Jesse Watter Primetime, which operates from the sludge-filled basement found beneath the National Tabloid / Slag Heap Building.

The Fox News Channel is a disgrace. So are the endless Blue American news orgs which are unwilling to report and discuss what the messengers do over there.

Our stars are afraid to talk about Fox. They're graduates of the finest schools, but they simply aren't willing to serve.