What Went Down On Night 2 Of The RNC

Right to Try, a 2018 law that allows terminally ill patients to access experimental drug treatments before the drugs are out of the approval process, is getting another shout-out tonight in Pence’s video. I think tonight’s speaker explained it much better than last night’s — which is important, because I don’t think it’s a widely known piece of legislation. I’m a little confused by why it’s getting so much play. Maybe it seems like an appealing idea? Or maybe it’s a testament to how few banner pieces of legislation have passed during Trump’s presidency?

Republican House candidates outperformed Trump in 2016 and Trump has never been particularly popular. If we are evaluating the counterfactual where a generic Republican like Pence had won in 2016 and then established a somewhat normal administration, I would guess the generic Republican would be in much better shape for reelection.

Galen, that is a tough question. On the one hand, Pence is not as an unpopular as Trump, so I could see him performing better than the president. On the other hand, the effect of COVID-19 on Pence’s standing is impossible to know (as others have mentioned).