Hello and welcome to whistle stop, a podcast of the presidency. I'm John Dickerson.

Our whistle stop today is Election Day, November 2, 487, and 2. In the years, 1982, 86, 1994, 2006, and 2010. It's a special daisy chain episode of whistle stop. We're looking at the

midterm campaigns in the recent past as a referendum on the incumbent president. Why are we doing this?

Well, we're on the eve of an election here in the year of 2018, also known as the year of a future

whistlestop. Already more than $5 billion has

been spent on this election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a record twice what

was spent on congressional races in 2008. Control of the House hangs in the balance with

Democrats trying to regain control after they lost the people's chamber in 2010.

They have considerable advantages and astounding 112 Democrats outraised Republican opponents in Republican-held seats between July and September of 2018,

according to the Cook political reports, David Wasserman.

In the generic ballot, which asked people whether they would vote for a Democrat or a Republican,

the Democrats have consistently been ahead and now, according to 538, have about an eight percentage point advantage over Republicans.

And the president's approval ratings are not very good, and that has historically shown a rough correlation with the outcome of his party's success on midterm election day. President Trump has a net negative approval rating of negative 8.9 percentage points, which would be the fourth worst out of the 19 midterms since World War II, according to 538's

Nate Silver. The Senate is looking a little better for Republicans. Ten Democrats are holding office

in states where Donald Trump won, and the chances seem slim that the GOP will lose the two-seat

margin that gives the party its control over the Senate.

The president is metaphorically on the ballot and he wants to be.

In a certain way, I'm on the ballot, so please go out and vote.

And as a result, President Trump has been crisscrossing the country stumping for candidates to improve his party's chances.

He's not the first to have done this, and we'll take a look at the historical precedence after a word from our sponsor.

It's not supposed to be the case that midterm elections are a referendum on the president, but that's the way things are.

See, because, of course, the executive and the legislative are supposed to be two separate free-floating

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