With Republicans trailing in the polls, the party is making hard choices about where to spend its money — abandoning some races while pouring resources into others. Shane Goldmacher, Nate Cohn and Lisa Lerer, political correspondents for The New York Times, explain why President Trump is campaigning almost daily in deep-red territory, how his influence is shaping the strategy and whether Democrats can win over the disenchanted voters they may need to take back the House and the Senate. Guests:  • Shane Goldmacher (https://www.nytimes.com/by/shane-goldmacher) , a national political correspondent for The New York Times. • Nate Cohn (https://www.nytimes.com/by/nate-cohn) , the chief political analyst for The New York Times. • Lisa Lerer (https://www.nytimes.com/by/lisa-lerer) , a national political correspondent for The New York Times. Background reading:  • Economic pain and an unpopular Trump (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/10/us/politics/trump-inflation-midterms-republicans.html) have put the G.O.P. on its heels. • Top Republican groups are pulling support from two House incumbents. (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/13/us/politics/top-gop-groups-pull-support-from-first-house-incumbents.html) Photo: Kenny Holston/The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://nytimes.com/podcasts) or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.