The map just keeps getting bigger and better for Democrats.<\/p>\n
Over the last week, The Cook Political Report shifted 15 races toward Democrats<\/a>, creating three new \u201ctossup\u201d districts in conservative swaths of North Carolina, Texas and Florida. It made another 10 red districts a little less red.<\/p>\n One notable development: Cook moved a Republican incumbent running for re-election in a seat not redrawn by redistricting to the lean Democratic column for the first time. It is Representative Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey, who was absent from the House for months<\/a> this year, which he said was because of depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n Top Talker<\/p>\n Trump is increasingly leaning on taxpayer funds to boost his image ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n This weekend, a black-and-white video<\/a> created during his 2024 presidential run began airing on televisions. Except that this time, the video had a new disclaimer: \u201cPaid for by the U.S. Government.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics say the president is violating laws against using public funds for propaganda. The White House is calling the ads \u201cpublic service announcements.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n At least three such ads have run so far.<\/p>\n The ads have received some bipartisan criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on \u2014 on private ads for themselves,\u201d Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said Sunday on CBS News\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Money<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s MAGA Inc. super PAC is spending in deeply Republican territory in an apparent effort to hold down the size of a Democratic wave.<\/p>\n The group is investing in two districts in Texas \u2014 the Ninth and the 15th Districts \u2014 which Trump would have won by nearly 20 points, if they had existed in their current shape in 2024.<\/p>\n This strategy isn\u2019t limited to Texas. Trump\u2019s group has spent nearly $2 million on the open seat in the 11th District in North Carolina, which the president won by 9.5 percentage points in 2024. Democrats, hungry for a pickup, are also spending big there.<\/p>\n One Key Metric<\/p>\n The average price for a gallon of gas as of Sunday: $4.48, per AAA. That\u2019s almost 40 cents more per gallon than a month ago.<\/p>\n One Poll Number<\/p>\n 66 percent.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the percentage of voters who disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of the war in Iran, according to the NYT\/Siena poll<\/a> released last week \u2014 a figure that has alarmed Republicans.<\/p>\n On the Ground<\/p>\n