One Republican close to the White House said surveys following the first presidential debate, many of which showed increasingly troublesome numbers for the president among women and senior voters, left him convinced that not only is Trump on track to lose the election, but he could drag a dozen or more GOP candidates down with him.

Another Trump ally who is involved in the president’s 2020 campaign described the past two weeks as “a slow-motion train wreck” and said Barrett’s anticipated confirmation will be “a consolation prize” for conservatives if Democrats regain control of both the White House and the Senate next month.

“I’ve been mapping out paths to 270 electoral votes almost every week since July and it’s gotten to a point now where it’s just a depressing exercise,” this person said, adding that cementing a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court “is more important than ever” given the president’s reelection prospects.