Congressional and presidential candidates pulling money from the same pots grow more unified and aligned in their thinking and behavior because they’re courting the same tiny audience of power brokers. Increasingly, the national issue voters focus on in both House and Senate races is the presidency. In 2018, the president was not on the ballot, but 60 percent of registered voters—the highest percentage in recent midterm elections—said they used their vote to send a message about President Trump.45 In 2010, 52 percent said the same about Barack Obama.46
