I recently got a piece of metal put in my mouth.

Oh. Is that a palette expander?

It is a palette expander.

So we'll see if I can avoid saying Tim Sheehee, because that's not awkward as hell.

Just call him Tim.

The Montana Republican nominee...

There you go.

I sound like John Tester, right? He's like, my opponent.

My opponent.

My opponent. Hello and welcome to the 538 politics podcast I'm Galen Druk.

We talk a lot about the presidential race on this podcast, but of course that is not the only thing on the ballot in November.

All around this big beautiful country, voters will cast their ballots in races for Senate, House, as well as

dozens of ballot initiatives. So today for all of the true election heads we are

doing the down ballot episode and we're also for those

purposes going on a road trip a whirlwind journey across the map in an attempt to

cover as many noteworthy down ballot races as possible.

And we're going to start right here where I am sitting in the 538 podcast studio

in New York State, where House Democrats are hoping for a better outcome than their lackluster

2022 performance. Then we will crisscross the country making a pit stop

wherever there's a down ballot race that could prove pivotal this November and

beyond. By the end we will have a better sense of the congressional map,

the state of several high-profile ballot initiatives,

...