JT TAYLOR:  Capital Brief - JT   Potomac banner 2

If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.

      -Ronald Reagan

FRIGHT NIGHT PART III: The third and final debate takes place tonight in Las Vegas and we expect there to be more of the same with the end result being a wash - and Americans praying for this election to just end. Clinton will have the toughest road to haul as her Wikileaks nightmare continues, moderator Chris Wallace will likely press her in controversial areas that weren’t extensively covered in past debates - and of course she’ll be sharing the stage with the unshackled Donald Trump.  Trump troubles could grow as he’s likely to face tough questions about the accusers who have stepped forward since the emergence of the Access Hollywood tape not to mention his refrain of calling the election a house of mirrors. His back is up against the wall and he has nothing to lose - expect him to make Clinton’s life very difficult tonight and draw as much blood as he possibly can.

REPUBLICAN GOLD RUSH: With Team Trump pursuing a scorched earth campaign strategy, top Republicans are focusing on down ballot races that have taken a turn in the wake of the aftermath. Conservative Super Pacs are opening up their wallets to try and support candidates in states and districts that were once viewed as safe. Money is now flowing into UT and AZ as well as conservative districts in CA, Western CO, upstate NY and MI. The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $15 million in September and took out another $15 million in credit in an all out push to hold onto the Senate. Republicans are trying to prevent Democrats from taking seats that in any other election would be reliably red, but late breaking projections are showing their majority slipping away.

DEMOCRAT DIVERSION: As Republicans are scrambling to preserve once safe seats, Democrats are turning their attention to those same areas to try and gain ground as the current state of the presidential election has Democrats dreaming big. As Hillary Clinton’s leads in the overall and battleground state polls grows, her campaign is channeling millions of dollars to states with competitive Senate and House races where the cash could boost Democrats. Democrats have now taken to the airwaves in AZ, MO, IN - and even TX.

WIKI WOES: The Clinton campaign breathed a sigh of relief a few weeks ago when Assange’s “October Surprise” turned out to be an exercise in self-promotion, they are now scrambling as Wikileaks is slowly releasing new emails from the Clinton orbit on an almost daily basis. We’ve now seen unflattering emails about the Clinton campaign’s disdain for Catholics, excerpts from her Goldman speeches, preparations for an Islamophobic campaign push against President Obama, and potential collusion between State and the DoJ during an investigation - to mention a few. We find it hard to imagine that the leaks won’t be more damning as we approach election day, but Assange is going to need a good internet connection or a carrier pigeon - Ecuador cut him off this week.

ABOUTFACE ON ASSANGE: Six years ago following the release of diplomatic cables, Assange was Republican enemy number one with many high ranking conservatives calling for him to be “hunted down” and imprisoned. Fast forward to 2016 and many of those same Republicans are looking to hoist him on their shoulders. As Wikileaks continues to release documents harmful to the Democratic nominee, Republicans are praising the man who they hope will burn down the House of Clinton.

BACKLOG OF MEDICARE CLAIMS APPEALS HEADED TO RESOLUTION?: Our Senior Healthcare Analyst Emily Evans writes about the American Hospital Association submitted its ideas about resolving the backlog of Medicare provider appeals. You can read the whole piece here.