rich 1.0 Polls show Democratic candidates are leading or tied in several deep red states—places the left never thought they could win. So how optimistic should Democrats be that the midterms won’t just deliver a blue wave, but a full-on red collapse? To understand how bad all this actually looks for Republicans (and whether we can really trust the polls), Alex speaks to Charlie Cook, founder of the Cook Political Report. But first, what’s the mood like on the ground in Nebraska, where a leftward tilt appears to be on the horizon? Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, joins Alex to discuss what’s prompting people to defect from the GOP in red states, how big the Democratic tent can stretch, and whether it’ll all be enough come Election Day. Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends (HTTP://crooked.com/friends) , on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel. Order Alex's new book, The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and The Raid On America's Courts (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-steal-four-right-wing-hard-liners-one-republican-presidency-and-the-raid-on-america-s-courts-alex-wagner/79e2bee385d4c18b) and subscribe to her Substack here (https://howthehellwithalexwagner.substack.com/) . You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com. Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery. Runaway Country with Alex Wagner https://audioboom.com/channels/5166628-runaway-country-with-alex-wagner Audioboom https://audioboom.com 480 95 https://audioboom.com/i/43873917/600x600/c 600 600 <iframe width="100%" height="95" src="https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/8961946/embed?v=202301" style="background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; width: 100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="allowtransparency" scrolling="no" title="Audioboom player" allow="autoplay" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>