Inside Schumer's plot to retake the Senate

""North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska ... those four, we're going to win," Schumer told Axios in an interview Tuesday at Senate Democrats' campaign headquarters in D.C. Schumer and Democrats will need to flip at least four GOP-held seats to reclaim a majority. They'll also need to protect Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) in Georgia - where Schumer predicted his party will win - and prevent Republicans from flipping an open seat in Michigan, where the primary has turned ugly."

"The big picture: Schumer's key recruiting victories include former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska). "If we lose the Senate by one seat, and Trump puts two 40-year-olds on the Supreme Court ... you won't be happy," Schumer told Axios about his pitch to those candidates. "It was patriotism that motivated these people." Trump would need just a majority of votes in the Senate to confirm a Supreme Court justice. A Democratic majority would act as a check to that."

"On possible impeachment, Schumer said: "Let's beat Trump ... then we can talk about other things." Democrats are already gaming out impeachments of multiple top Trump officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman last week in Minneapolis. Schumer said Trump would "have no choice" but to work with Democrats if they're in the majority. He pointed to their ability to pass pandemic relief legislation toward the end of Trump's first term."

Democrats are targeting North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska as key pickup opportunities to regain Senate control. They must flip at least four GOP-held seats while defending Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia and preventing a Republican pickup in an open Michigan seat where the primary has turned contentious. Key recruiting victories include former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, former Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Rep. Mary Peltola. The stakes include blocking conservative Supreme Court appointments and using majority power to pursue potential impeachments and legislative leverage.

Read at Axios