As they face a serious enthusiasm gap going into the midterms, some Democrats are quietly reveling in how salacious reports about Trump and his allies — not to mention this week’s sex-and-drugs scandal in the House GOP — could help awaken their base. The two parties are still a long way from November, but Trump and the GOP’s other lightning-rod figures are giving Democrats just the political foil they’ve been looking for as virtually everything else has gone the Republicans’ way…

“We still have a villain. We’ll have to remind people of what that was like. And that sure scares the hell out of me,” Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) said.

“For God’s sake, how did we get to the point where … the base voters are so mad about two of our own senators, rather than Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump and Jan. 6? That is a tremendously mismanaged situation,” he added.

What’s not clear, however, is whether anti-Trump energy can give Democrats sustained momentum — it’s a nebulous prospect for a party that’s seen its biggest priorities stalled while the costs of everything from gas and groceries continue to shoot up.