In Other News · United States

Source: Axios

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is scaling back expectations and zeroing in on a narrowed battlefield as Republicans' prospects of keeping their majority look increasingly bleak. Why it matters: Emmer, a former National Republican Congressional Committee chair who helped the GOP unexpectedly gain seats in 2020, argues his party can still defy historical headwinds in November.But with less than a month to go, Emmer acknowledges that some tough decisions are coming about where Republicans spend their money, including walking away from races they don't think they can salvage. "It really is a business, and you're looking at a balance sheet, and you're putting your money where you're gonna get your biggest return," he told Axios aboard a plane between campaign stops.Axios joined Emmer, who plans to visit 56 districts between September and Election Day, as he traveled from Charlotte to Richmond last week for stops with Reps. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.).Driving the news: It's a lesson Emmer says Republicans learned the hard way in 2022, when expectations of a "red wave" led the party to spread its resources too broadly."We expanded the map when we should have kept it narrow," Emmer told donors in Charlotte. "We...