Good Thursday morning, I'm Jake Sherman and welcome to your Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, sponsored by AARP.

And I'm Anna Palmer. The big question a lot of people are asking this morning is, is the president a drag at the ballot box?

The Washington Post is up with a story looking at how there is mounting concerns about the president's midterm role after a rough showing Wednesday by Republican candidates.

The New York Times writes that Trump believes he is indispensable on the campaign trail,

but that ignores reality of his controversy-laden tenure in the Oval Office,

and that it is undermining the Republican candidates he is trying to save.

Here's a message you should expect to hear a lot more from some conservative House Republicans.

The LA Times is a piece up about California Congressman Devin Nunes speaking at a recent fundraiser

where he made the case that if Jeff Sessions won't unrecuse himself and Bob Mueller won't clear

the president, Republicans must keep their majority to protect Trump.

The president is at his house in Bedminster.

The only item on his public schedules a prison reform roundtable

with state leaders this afternoon.

Buffalo News is reporting that Representative Chris Collins was defiant

at an evening press conference in downtown Buffalo,

where he said he, quote, acted properly

and within the law at all times.

Collins also said he would remain on the ticket.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, the Kansas City Star reports that Chris Kobach said he has no plans

to recuse himself from a recount in the governor's race.

He appeared to backtrack on that a bit in a Fox News

interview where he said if his opponent insists he recuse himself, we can certainly do that.

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