For much of the summer, Democrats were feeling optimistic about the Senate, so a loss of both chambers would be a bitter pill to swallow.

That outcome will almost certainly lead to stronger calls for Democrats to dump Biden ahead of 2024.

“No matter what happens, there’s going to be pressure on him to make a decision sooner rather than later,” said Democratic strategist Jim Manley, who served as a senior aide to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

But Manley agreed a poor showing for Democrats in the midterms would be more problematic for the president.

[I’ll make two predictions: the midterms will be worse than Democrats think, and Biden will find a reason to retire in 2024. But that won’t do them much good over the next couple of weeks. — Ed]