GEOFF BENNETT: Well, if it's the day before Election Day, that means it's Politics Monday.

And here with us is our usual duo, Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's great to see you both.

So, on the eve of these midterms, President Trump is relitigating the damage done to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, even though his own Justice Department, we should say, concluded that the botched construction, not vandalism, was responsible for the damage there.

But, Amy, what does it tell us about the president's priorities that he's still focused on this, when voters are focused on the economy and the direction of the country?

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Yes, I mean, you really -- the split screen between voters' concerns and what the president wants to talk about is not just apparent today in this press conference, but has been apparent to voters for quite some time.

And you can see that opinions about how the president is handling the economy, driven, of course, by inflation and the cost of gas, but also driven by this frustration that voters have that they don't think the president cares enough about it or is working hard enough on these issues.

We hear it from voters all the time that they feel like, well, wait, why is the president talking about this and not talking about the things that he campaigned on, which is lowering my costs?

I also think it's notable, when I'm listening to other Republicans, how they're closing out their campaign.

Again, you said the election is going to be about the economy.

We all know that that's a top issue.

But when you listen, especially in these red states, Republicans are closing out their campaigns, not on talking about what they're going to do to improve the economy, but how terrible the Democrats are.

It would be very problematic, say a number of them in places like Texas and Kansas, if you elected this Democrat, because then it means Democrats are in charge of the Senate, so hoping -- not really trying to sway swing voters, just trying to turn out their base, which, as we have talked about all year, still seems very, very uneager to vote.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Tam, when the president in his remarks was talking about tomorrow's election, he didn't sound entirely optimistic.

I mean, you heard him use that same refrain about how the midterms are often tough on the sitting president's party.

He was almost telegraphing defeat.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Yes, he was talking in the past tense, saying, like, we gave it a good try.

And, certainly, the president and his allies did everything they could to tilt this playing field in favor of Republicans, redrawing congressional district lines, just huge amounts of money, like truckloads of money being spent on the air.

But part of this is also decisions that President Trump made along the way, candidates he chose to support that are now creating major headaches for Republicans.

Like, Republicans should not have to have spent something like $400 million on air in the state of Texas to hold on to a Senate seat there, and it's not clear they're going to be able to hold on to it.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's shift our focus to what's happening in Michigan, where the congresswoman there, Haley Stevens, who lost to Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate race, she -- Senate primary, rather -- she abruptly endorsed the Republican, Mike Rogers.

Amy, is this last-minute spectacle surrounding Haley Stevens, is it likely to have any real impact on the outcome of the race, or is this more about the personalities involved?

AMY WALTER: Yes, I do really think it's much more about the personalities than the -- than any sort of ideological piece.

To be fair, there is an ideological divide between the two of them and specifically on the issue of Israel.

And this is a real issue and concern within the Democratic Party writ large, so not to minimize that.

But the frustration I think that Stevens has and she's been communicating in the last 24 hours seems much more personal than it is about policy, that feeling as if El-Sayed and his campaign sort of rebuffed her, did not treat her well.

I don't know if you know this, but politicians sometimes have egos.

AMY WALTER: And they can get bruised rather much so.

I think on both sides of this debate, that there are two egos.

We actually, at The Cook Political Report, shifted this race, as a matter of fact, into leaning Democrat.

We believe that ultimately, when you look at all the data that's out there, especially when you look at how El-Sayed has consolidated the Democratic base, we just don't think there are enough Democrats out there or Democratic-leaning voters who were thinking, hmm, should I vote for El-Sayed, should I vote for Rogers, that are going to be moved enough to tip this race.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Tam, Stevens' defection appears to have had the opposite of the intended effect, which is that it has galvanized Michigan Democrats largely around El-Sayed.

And El-Sayed, and he's raised like 42.5 million in 24 hours.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, he has raised a lot of money.

And this -- so many people have already voted, have already made up their minds.

This is a really late move.

Yes, it was absolutely a November surprise that maybe we weren't expecting yesterday.

But in terms of actually moving votes, changing the outcome of the race, it feels too late.

GEOFF BENNETT: Is there a particular race that you're paying close attention to tomorrow as a bellwether, let's say?

AMY WALTER: Oh, oh, so many, Geoff.

I can't wait to talk to you about all of the races that I'm watching.

But there's one in particular in Texas.

It's the 35th District down and around the Rio Grande Valley, one of those districts that was drawn specifically by Republicans to gain a seat.

And right now, it is a state -- it is a district that voted pretty overwhelmingly for Donald Trump.

Right now, that race is a toss-up.

Where it goes, I think is going to tell us a lot on election night about just how deep into red territory Democrats may go.

GEOFF BENNETT: How about you, Tam?

Or what is the White House watching too?

TAMARA KEITH: Yes.

Oh, well, we will go with what I'm watching, which is the First Congressional District in North Carolina and the 25th Congressional District in Florida.

These are also redrawn districts by Republicans aimed at taking out incumbent Democrats.

And these races have been hugely expensive, the most expensive House races on the air, and yet Democrats look to be in a pretty good position in both of those.

And we will get results early, which is why I'm watching it to see how the rest of the night is going to go.

AMY WALTER: Right.

And, notably, the Florida and Texas race, also, it's Latino voters that are going to make the difference here, which was the group of voters, as we all know, that moved so dramatically in 2024 and seemed to be moving against Republicans this time.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter.

Amy, we will see you back here tomorrow night.

AMY WALTER: Indeed.

Thank you.