美国众议院多数党领袖史蒂夫·斯卡利斯不愿谈论失败，即使他的外部共和党盟友已经开始撤资。
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise won't talk about defeat, even as his outside GOP allies are pulling money anyway.
为何重要：共和党面临严峻的政治逆风，但斯卡利斯（路易斯安那州共和党人）与其他领导人不同，他拒绝甚至考虑失去众议院的可能性。
Why it matters: Republicans face brutal political headwinds, but Scalise (R-La.) stands out from his fellow leaders for refusing to even contemplate losing the House.
聚焦：在共和党人马蒂·奥唐纳的活动现场，奥唐纳正在挑战众议员苏西·李（内华达州民主党人），斯卡利斯认为，他出现在该选区证明共和党仍在进攻。
Zoom in: At an event for Republican Marty O'Donnell, who's challenging Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Scalise argued that his presence in the district was evidence Republicans are still on offense.
- “如果对共和党来说是个糟糕的周期，那我为什么会在这里？”斯卡利斯周四在拉斯维加斯一家乡村俱乐部对支持者说。
• "If it's some horrible cycle for Republicans, then why am I here?" Scalise told supporters at a Las Vegas country club Thursday.
- “这是一场可以赢得的选举，”他说。但与特朗普总统结盟的超级政治行动委员会MAGA Inc.上周从该竞选中撤回了近100万美元的广告支出。
• "This is a winnable race," he said. But MAGA Inc., a super PAC allied with President Trump, pulled nearly $1 million in advertising from the race last week.
大局：华盛顿邮报-艾伯森最新民调显示，民主党在普选支持率上领先共和党八个百分点，特朗普的支持率创下历史新低31%，72%的人表示美国正走在错误的轨道上。他将在8月至选举日期间进行56场竞选活动，作为他所谓的“拯救美国之旅”的一部分，随行还有印有其行程地图的T恤。
The big picture: House Democrats lead the generic ballot by eight points in new Washington Post-ABC polling Trump's approval is at a record low of 31% and 72% say the country is on the wrong track • He's making 56 campaign stops between August and Election Day as part of what he's dubbed the "Save America Tour," complete with T-shirts featuring a map of his travels.
- “这就像比摇滚乐队还要好，”斯卡利斯上周在亚利桑那州和内华达州竞选途中，在飞行中接受Axios采访时说。
• "This is like better than a rock band," Scalise told Axios during an in-flight interview while campaigning in Arizona and Nevada last week.
斯卡利斯确定了35个竞争激烈的选区，其中包括15个民主党持有、共和党认为有机会翻转的席位。
Scalise identified 35 competitive districts including 15 Democratic-held seats Republicans believe they have a chance to flip.
- 他指出，众议员迈克·劳勒（纽约州共和党人）、胡安·西斯科马尼（亚利桑那州共和党人）、罗布·布雷斯纳汉（宾夕法尼亚州共和党人）和瑞安·麦肯齐（宾夕法尼亚州共和党人）是他将密切关注的竞选，作为选举夜走势的风向标。
• He pointed to Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) as races he'll watch closely as bellwethers for how the night could unfold.
- Axios记者亚历克斯·伊森斯塔德报道，支持斯卡利斯的超级政治行动委员会“拯救美国自由”也将启动一项350万美元的投票动员和数字广告攻势，以帮助52名众议院共和党人。
• The pro-Scalise super PAC Save American Freedom is also launching a $3.5 million get-out-the-vote and digital advertising blitz to help 52 House Republicans, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports.
- 受益的共和党人包括众议员布拉德·芬斯塔德（R-明尼苏达州）、迈克·凯里（R-俄亥俄州）和罗布·维特曼（R-弗吉尼亚州），以及共和党候选人拉尔夫·阿尔瓦拉多（肯塔基州第6选区）、亚历克斯·米勒（德克萨斯州第9选区）和珍妮·科斯特·哈尼卡特（南卡罗来纳州第1选区）。
• Among the Republicans benefiting are Reps. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), Mike Carey (R-Ohio) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.), along with GOP candidates Ralph Alvarado (KY-6), Alex Mealer (TX-9) and Jenny Costa Honeycutt (S.C.-1).
引人注目之处：共和党在一些选区的撤资引发了猜测，认为共和党正在放弃众议院以保住参议院。但斯卡利斯认为这仍将惠及他的成员。
The intrigue: The GOP's pullback in some districts has fueled speculation that Republicans are giving up on the House to save the Senate. But Scalise argued it will still benefit his members.
- 他指出，在爱荷华州，与众议院共和党结盟的超级政治行动委员会“国会领导基金”撤回了对玛丽安内特·米勒-米克斯选区的财政支持。随后，参议院共和党人为阿什利·赫森买下了广告时段。
• He pointed to Iowa, where the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC allied with House Republicans, pulled financial support from Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' district. Senate Republicans subsequently bought the airtime for Ashley Hinson.
- “你实际上会得到一份三合一的收益，”斯卡利斯说，他认为将广告时段转给赫森将使米勒-米克斯、众议员扎克·纳恩以及在赫森众议院选区竞选继任者的共和党人受益。
• "You actually get a three for one," Scalise said, arguing that shifting the ad time to Hinson will benefit Miller-Meeks, Rep. Zach Nunn and the Republican running to succeed Hinson in her House district.
- “你也可能在其他一些地区看到这种情况，”斯卡利斯说。他指向北卡罗来纳州和德克萨斯州的参议院选举，承认在这些州的选票顶端存在“挑战”。
• "You're going to probably see that in some other areas too," Scalise said. He pointed to Senate races in North Carolina and Texas, where he acknowledged "challenges" at the top of the ticket.
结论：尽管众议长迈克·约翰逊（R-路易斯安那州）上周公开就这一情景发表了看法，但斯卡利斯尚未准备好超越选举日来展望未来。
The bottom line: Scalise isn't ready to look beyond Election Day, even as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) publicly weighed in on that very scenario last week.
- 约翰逊表示，即使民主党赢得多数席位，他也打算继续担任众议院最高共和党人。最高职位的竞争可能演变成约翰逊、斯卡利斯和众议员吉姆·乔丹（R-俄亥俄州）之间的三-way角逐。
• Johnson said he intends to remain the top House Republican even if Democrats win the majority. The race for the top job could become a three-way fight among Johnson, Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
- 斯卡利斯多次拒绝透露他是否会支持约翰逊担任少数党领袖，或是否会考虑自己参选。
• Scalise repeatedly declined to say whether he would endorse Johnson for minority leader or consider running himself.
- “任何认为我们可能失利并为此做规划的人，都在错的行业里，”斯卡利斯对《Axios》说道。
• "Anybody who's thinking about planning for us losing is in the wrong business," Scalise told Axios.