The Point: 🚨The Democratic wave looks like it is getting bigger🚨

View this email in your browser January 17, 2018  | by Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy 🚨The Democratic wave looks like it is getting bigger🚨 On Tuesday night, it happened again. Democrat Patty Schachtner beat Republican Adam Jarchow for a western Wisconsin state Senate seat that had been held by a Republican since 2000 and in a district that President Donald Trump won handily in 2016. Schachtner's win marked the first Republican-to-Democrat switch at the state legislative level of 2018, but it is the 34th state legislative seat pickup for Democrats since the start of 2017. That trend is beginning to rightly alarm smart Republicans. It's not just Wisconsin. In Virginia, Democrats flipped 15 Republican seats in the November 2017 election. A 16th seat ended tied, but Republicans retained control after their candidate won a drawing of lots. In Oklahoma -- not exactly a Democratic-friendly state -- Democrats nonetheless picked up three GOP-held state legislative seats last year. In New Hampshire, two GOP seats flipped in September. The writing is on the wall. The Democratic base is hugely excited -- largely due to their distaste for Trump. The Republican base -- at least for most of 2017 -- has been less passionate. And that sort of base enthusiasm disparity has translated -- and likely will continue to translate -- into major gains for Democrats in the midterms. There are caveats, for sure. Republicans grew their numbers massively at the state legislative level during the Obama presidency -- picking up more than 900 seats across the country. And Republicans aren't losing every race at the state legislative level. But a broad look at the election results of the past year suggests one thing very clearly: Republicans are headed for a major reckoning from voters this fall. Already 33 Republican House members have announced they will either retire or run for some other office in 2018 as compared to just 15 Democrats. Of those 33 Republican retirements, a number hail from seats Hillary Clinton won in 2016 or where Trump's margin was small. The Point: The thing about waves is they build on themselves. Big ones get bigger as they approach the shallower shore. That looks to be what's happening with each passing week. And while the 2018 election might feel very far off, we are now under 300 days away from November 6, 2018. It may well already be too late for Republicans. Read my full take here. -- Chris QUOTE OF THE DAY "My father sees one color: Green. That's all he cares about. He cares about the economy. He's the least racist person I've ever met in my entire life." -- Eric Trump to "Fox and Friends"  CHRIS' GOOD READS This is a very important story by Politico's John Bresnahan and Burgess Everett on how no one on Capitol Hill trusts Trump. CNN's Kaitlan Collins explains "Executive Time." How Michael Wolff did it, according to Bloomberg's Jennifer Jacobs. Los Angeles Times' Phil Willon reports that the Reagan ranch has become a young conservative mecca. An oral history of "Breaking Bad" by Esquire's Emma Dibdin. How does one acquire $1.2 million worth of wine? MUSICAL INTERLUDE Richard Thompson isn't nearly famous enough. "Persuasion" is one of Chris' favorites. BANNON COOPERATING CNN's Kara Scannell and Maegan Vazquez reported Wednesday that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has struck a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's team. Two people familiar with the process told CNN that he will be interviewed by prosecutors instead of testifying before the grand jury.  Read more in CNN's report here. YEAR ONE DONE: A LOOK AT TRUMP'S APPROVAL RATING CNN's Ryan Struyk writes: If it seems like President Trump's approval rating isn't moving much, that's because it isn't. Trump's approval rating is the flattest of elected presidents in modern surveys. A majority of the American people disapprove of his handling of nearly every event and policy priority during his first year -- from the Russia investigation to Charlottesville, from withdrawing from the Paris climate pact to rescinding the immigration program known as DACA, from his travel ban to tax reform to efforts to repeal Obamacare. The booming economy, on which Trump has gotten a virtually even split over his first year, remains the one major exception to that rule. Trump's approval rating has remained consistently locked in around 37% -- plus or minus depending on which way the wind is blowing -- for the last nine months, according to weekly numbers from Gallup. Read more in Ryan's full story: 'What we learned from 365 days of Trump polls.' ICYMI: FLAKE'S FIERY SPEECH Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake finally gave his expected floor speech comparing President Donald Trump's attacks on the news media to the rhetoric of late Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. CNN's Daniella Diaz reported Wednesday: Flake, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump, took to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to rebuke the President for his repeated attacks on the truth as well as his colleagues for failing to be a check on Trump. "No longer can we compound attacks on truth with our silent acquiescence. No longer can we turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to these assaults on our institutions," Flake said in his speech. "An American president who cannot take criticism -- who must constantly deflect and distort and distract -- who must find someone else to blame -- is charting a very dangerous path. And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the President adds to the danger." You can read Daniella's story here and Flake's full speech here. Also: Sen. John McCain penned an op-ed in the Washington Post called "Mr. President, stop attacking the press." THE COGNITIVE TEST: OUR RESULTS Chris, Saba and Brenna Williams took a similar cognitive test -- courtesy of BBC News -- to one that was administered to President Donald Trump. See our results (above) -- that's right, 5/5! We are all very stable geniuses. POINT READERS: Take the quiz, send us your results and tell us your thoughts. Was it easy? Why or why not? Email: Chris.Cillizza@cnn.com and Saba.Hamedy@cnn.com. YOUR DAILY GIF H/T Brenna The President joined Republican and Democratic leaders in praising former Sen. Bob Dole as he was bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress. Happy Wednesday! Tell everyone you know to subscribe to The Point.  We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. 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