Still Sen. Fischer’s Race to Lose

Omaha, NE.—It's not the end of the world—the 2018 Senate fight is still Republican Deb Fischer's  race to lose—but it is worth noting. The Cook Political Report has given Fischer's Democratic opponent, Jane Raybould, a glimmer of hope. Cook, well respected and closely watched by political insiders, has upgraded Raybould's chance of winning. But it's far from a major upgrade. Up until a few days ago, Fischer's seat was in Cook's super-safe "Solid" Republican category.  Now Fisher is considered "Likely" to be reelected. And according to Cook, here's the fine-line difference:

Solid— These races are not considered competitive and are not likely to become closely contested.

Likely—These seats are not considered competitive at this point, but have the potential to become engaged.

As you might expect Team Raybould, parading a couple of recent endorsements (the state teachers union and an anti-pac money group) along with the Cook up-tick, insists Raybould is "surging." Asked to comment on the Cook Report, Fischer's campaign is not commenting. Maybe they don't need to talk. New numbers are coming soon (they should tell us a lot) but as of the end of 2017 Raybould had $200,000 in her campaign bank account compared to Fischer's $2.4 million. Follow Joe on Twitter and Facebook Joe Can Be Heard: Wednesday: Fairbury 8:00am KUTT 99.5-FM Thursday: Norfolk 8:10am US92-FM, 8:28 KNEN-AM 94.7, Nebraska City 8:55am KBIE 103.1-FM Friday: Broken Bow “Breakfast Show” KCNI 1280-AM/KBBM 95.3-FM, Lincoln 7:10am KLIN 1400-AM