美国国家公共电台 NPR--With just 4 weeks to go until Election Day, campaigning is in full swing

With just 4 weeks to go until Election Day, campaigning is in full swing

Transcript¹

Two of the closest U.S. Senate races in the midterms in November are in Arizona and Nevada. The Senate is 50-50, and Republicans aim to gain an advantage.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Throughout this month, Americans are voting in the midterm elections.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Republicans are considered favorites to capture the House. Democrats³ are favored to keep the Senate. But nothing is really predictable with so much on the line. Democrats are hoping abortion⁴ and other issues will limit the losses often suffered by the party in power. And Republicans had hoped to make the election a referendum on President Biden, but his predecessor⁵ has pushed to make the election about himself. Former President Trump⁶ campaigned in Arizona and Nevada over the weekend. He favors Senate candidates there who embraced his false claims about the election he lost. And he praised the size of the crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: Do you know the biggest crowd I've ever seen? January 6.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: And you never hear that. It was the biggest - and they were there largely to protest a corrupt⁷ and rigged and stolen election.

FADEL: All of that, of course, is not true.

INSKEEP: NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro is covering the midterms. Hey there, Domenico.

DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE⁸: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK, So the former president went to Nevada and Arizona. What's the importance of those states?

MONTANARO: Well, these are two of the closest Senate races in the country with Democratic incumbents⁹ Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada and Mark Kelly in Arizona. You know, the Senate is 50/50. Republicans need to net just one seat to take control of the Senate. And these are two of their top targets. You know, Democrats are playing defense¹⁰, but how far these Republican candidates have had to go to get Trump's endorsement¹¹ is a real wild card. Trump's far less popular with swing voters, independents, Latinos and Asian American voters, who are all key in both of these purple states.

INSKEEP: I just want to note how unusual it is that Donald Trump is campaigning in this midterm after his election defeat. Normally, the former president is off the stage. The current president faces a kind of referendum in the midterms. And very often, the president will lose some ground, showing a little bit of dissatisfaction with what's going on. Republicans would love to make this a referendum on Joe Biden, but Donald Trump keeps saying, Wait. Wait. What about me? It's about me. It's about me.

MONTANARO: Yeah, I mean, look. He's a factor here. And Democrats believe highlighting Trump's ties to these Republican candidates and abortion rights can really help them. But Republicans are using crime and the cost of living against Democrats. And the economy really is a main concern in many places, especially in a place like Nevada, which has a high white, working-class population and a lot of working-class Latinos. Republicans really see an opportunity with Latinos because of that.

INSKEEP: So there's a handful of states that can decide control of the Senate. Trump was in two of them that you mentioned, Arizona, Nevada. There's a couple of others, like - I don't know - Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania. And then there is Ohio, where Republicans were expected to walk. And the Republican nominee¹², J.D. Vance for Senate, is instead facing a tough challenge from Tim Ryan, the Democrat².

MONTANARO: Yeah, it's really a great example of a place where Republican ad spending has made a huge difference. You know, Ryan had a big lead, and that's now shrunk on the heels of the Senate Leadership Fund, a group tied to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell spending $52 million in just the last two weeks in some key races to boost Republicans. It shouldn't need to be that way in Ohio for Republicans, a state that's leaned pretty heavily Republican. Because of that Democrat, Tim Ryan's using - is trying to appeal to the middle. Listen to part of this ad with Ryan and his wife, Andrea.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

TIM RYAN: But if we have 10 conversations in one day...

ANDREA ZETTS: ...And we agree on seven...

RYAN: ...We crack a bottle of wine.

ZETTS: Yes, we do.

(SOUNDBITE OF WINE BOTTLE OPENING)

RYAN: The same goes for the country. We have to stop the stupid fights...

ZETTS: ...To find some common ground...

RYAN: ...And be Americans first.

ZETTS: Now, that I can agree with.

MONTANARO: You know, that's really something we've seen in places where candidates are running against the grain. And, you know, tonight's debate and all of these debates down the stretch in Ohio and other places will be critical because for many viewers, this will be the first and only times they'll be able to hear these candidates outside their filtered ads.

INSKEEP: NPR's Domenico Montanaro, thanks so much.

MONTANARO: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

5 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。