House Republicans' top messenger has three pieces of advice for candidates trying to survive the midterms: Call Democrats "communists," don't gaslight voters on inflation — and trust your district if it tells you to deviate from President Trump.

Why it matters: Calling Democrats "socialists" isn't enough — at least according to House Republican Conference chair Lisa McClain.

• 💥 "The word 'socialism' doesn't really resonate," McClain told us in an interview yesterday. "The word 'communism' resonates."
• That's despite House Republicans leaning heavily on tying Democrats to socialism as a midterm attack, including forcing a vote just this month on a resolution denouncing socialism designed to put Democrats in a tough spot.

👉 The challenge for Republicans is to connect the two words for voters, arguing that socialism leads to communism and a loss of individual freedoms.

• McClain's preferred formulation: "Common sense versus communist crazy."

Between the lines: McClain is giving vulnerable Republicans room to tailor the national message to their districts — even if it means contradicting or challenging Trump.

• 🎵 "In a utopia, I wish we all sang from the same hymnal," McClain said when asked about Rep. María Salazar's (R-Fla.) latest ad accusing Trump of betraying Hispanics.
• "Unfortunately, not all our districts are created equally, so I have to trust the members to do what they think is right in their district."

🤔 The Intrigue: McClain is also the first GOP leader to publicly acknowledge that the GOP is unlikely to win all 13 seats that Republicans say the redistricting wars have put in play for them.

• ‼️ "Do I think we're going to win all 13 seats? No," McClain told us. "You go into every game saying 'Of course, I'm going to win every game.' But I'm also a realist, right? I'm not betting on all 13 teams."
• Pressed on how many of those seats Republicans could realistically capture, McClain estimated "eight, nine, 10 of them," adding "It'll shake out."
• GOP leaders across the board, including McClain, have been unflinchingly optimistic about their chances of keeping the majority despite the headwinds they face.

Zoom in: McClain also urged Republicans not to "gaslight" voters about the economic pain they're feeling, including high gas prices fueled by the Iran war.

• ⛽️ "You have to have empathy," McClain said. "I shop at the same grocery stores and fill my gas tank up at the same pumps that everybody else does."
• "I don't think gaslighting works," she added, arguing Republicans should instead explain to voters why prices are high and defend Trump's handling of the war.

The bottom line: With lawmakers back in their districts until Election Day, the next six weeks will show how closely they follow McClain's playbook —and how it lands with voters.

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— Kate Santaliz and Hans Nichols

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is taking full advantage of the Supreme Court's ruling striking down limits on coordinated party spending, pumping $46.5 million into eight states, we've learned.

Why it matters: Republican committees, which entered the campaign's final stretch with a financial edge over their Democratic counterparts, have aggressively embraced the new rules allowing parties to coordinate unlimited spending with their candidates.

🔎 Zoom in: The spending will defend Republican-held seats and target Democratic-held seats.

• The biggest defensive investment is in Ohio, where the NRSC is spending $11.2 million to support Sen. Jon Husted (R).
• Next is Iowa, where the committee is spending $8.8 million on behalf of Rep. Ashley Hinson (R).

🎯 On offense, the NRSC is coordinating $5.3 million in spending with former Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire, followed by $4.2 million in Michigan.

• The committee is also spending in Alaska, Georgia, Maine and North Carolina.

On the House side, the National Republican Congressional Committee raised $13.5 million in August, we've learned, widening its financial edge over Democrats heading into the final stretch.

• 💵 The NRCC also logged a $13 million cash advantage over its Democratic counterpart — the largest lead the committee has ever held at this point in the election cycle.
• The NRCC ended the month with $89 million in cash on hand, compared with $76 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
• The DCCC raised $12 million in August, $1.5 million less than the NRCC.

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— Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz

Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker thinks Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee, is making a political "mistake" by distancing himself from Piker but also understands he has become a lightning rod in a tight election.

Why it matters: El-Sayed's past association with Piker has become a persistent and irritating issue for El-Sayed, who campaigned with the streamer during a contentious primary that he ultimately won.

• ⚡️ But the latest controversy involving Piker — his telling Axios' Alex Thompson that "pound for pound" the U.S. is worse than al-Qaeda — is giving El-Sayed's critics fresh ammunition.

🚗 Driving the news: In the Axios interview, Piker suggested that El-Sayed erred in trying to distance himself from the streamer after Piker on an Aug. 20 livestream suggested that American Jews could face violence for putting "this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel."

• "I think he is making a mistake with taking ownership over something that I think most voters understand is insincere," Piker told us.
• 🗳️ Piker also downplayed the possibility of returning to the campaign trail for El-Sayed in his race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).

The other side: El-Sayed again sought to downplay their relationship with Piker during an MS Now interview with Joe Scarborough on this morning.

• "He wasn't a big part of my campaign. We had him to Michigan once," El-Sayed said. El-Sayed's office didn't respond to a request for comment for this article.

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— Hans Nichols