PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll reports that voter interest in the mid-term elections has surged to record highs within both parties.

One reason is that President Donald Trump’s approval has gone up, though poll respondents still rate Democrats as the party most preferred to lead Congress.

According to the poll, “the findings post to an energized election, buffeted by dynamics that bring great uncertainty to the outcome of an election now just two weeks away.”

Of course, in the end, we’ll if projections for high turnout actually turn out to be true. Sometimes, in the past, high turnout hasn’t occurred as voters appear to get turned off instead of voting.

Three poll results:

• President Trump’s approval rating rose to 47 per cent, the highest mark in his time in office.
• Democrats still lead on the question of which party should control Congress.
• Democrats continue to be trusted more to handle health care, while Republicans still have the advantage on the economy.

All of this prompted pollster Bill McInturff to say: “It’s a barnburner. There’s a switch that’s been flipped. Americans are engaging in the campaign and the process.”

In another story, the Wall Street Journal reports that ”voters are casting early ballots between now and November 6, in what analysts are describing as ‘unprecedented voter interest in the 2018 midterm elections.”

So far, at least 4.7 million people have already cast their ballots, which dovetails with polling data that shows voting enthusiasm is off the charts.  [As an aside, did you know that campaign architects can find out if you have voted or not.  They cannot find out how you voted…just that you did or did not.]

As for enthusiasm, Democrats have had the advantage and are hoping it will propel them to a majority in the U.S. House. But the bitter Supreme Court battle over Justice Brett Kavanaugh appears to have jolted conservative voters and may help Republicans maintain or grow their majority in the Senate.

What does all this mean in the way of implications? Who knows? Of course, it depends on which way “interested voters” swing in individual races.

What could be the case:

• Democrats are likely to take control of the U.S. House
• Republicans are likely to retain control of the U.S. Senate
• Democrats are likely to retain control of both the House and Senate in Oregon, perhaps even supermajorities in both cases, which will make passing new taxes easier.
• In Oregon, high turnout will tend to benefit Democrat Kate Brown in her bid for re-election against Republican Knute Buehler. That’s especially true if Democrats – especially public employee union members who support Brown – bring in a huge number of ballots from Multnomah County, even if that occurs at the last minute in the mail ballot election. That usually swings close elections – like this one – toward the Ds.

That was true when Republican Chris Dudley lost a close election to former governor, Democrat John Kitzhaber. Incredibly, Dudley won 29 of Oregon’s 36 counties, but couldn’t get past high turnout in Multnomah County.

Previously, Republican Ron Saxton also came close to winning the governor’s race, but ceded ground in the end when, back in the day, Oregonians got tired of President George Bush and gave their allegiance to Democrats, including down ballot.

So, in all of this, if you have not yet voted, do so soon. My wife and I did yesterday, so at least that means we will not have to pay any more attention to political ads.