Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer helped draw the battle lines over the shutdown. Now he's using them to strengthen his position as the leader of the often-divided Democratic caucus.

Why it matters: His colleagues are taking notice.

• 🫡 Progressives and moderates alike have remained united behind Schumer's plan to reject any GOP funding plan that doesn't include concessions on health care. And they are giving him high praise.
• For a leader who faced internal and external criticism over his decision seven months ago to help Republicans fund the government, it's a marked change.

📢 What they're saying: Schumer "understands the urgency of this moment," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told us.

• "He's got a very hard job, but he's been able to effectively convey to our members how serious this moment is," said Murphy, who was among those who questioned Schumer's tactics in March.
• "The fact that we've had [several] votes in a row and we have stayed consistent, I think speaks for itself," Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told us yesterday, when Democrats defeated a 10th GOP effort to pass a short-term spending bill.
• 🥮 "The proof is in the pudding," Slotkin said.

Zoom out: Since the shutdown began more than two weeks ago, Schumer has held together a caucus that often fractures along ideological lines.

• Preventing health insurance premiums from skyrocketing has become a rallying cry for Democrats, who are demanding that the GOP extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.
• The unity has stymied the Republican attack plan, which predicted that Democrats — particularly moderates — would eventually fold under the pressure of a prolonged shutdown.
• Schumer can't lose any more than seven of his caucus members. So far, only three moderates have broken ranks to vote for the GOP funding bill.

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— Stephen Neukam

Fundraising last quarter by Democratic Senate candidates shows major enthusiasm on their side.

Why it matters: Big quarterly hauls don't always translate into electoral victories, but they do help gauge energy. And Democrats are clearly tapping into a motivated base — and banking big cash advantages for next year.

• Fundraising directly to a candidate's primary account, however, is not the full picture of a campaign's might.

🔎 Between the lines: Campaigns are increasingly relying on joint fundraising committees and outside super PACs for major spending.

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), for example, raked in millions in Q3 through his multiple joint fundraising committees — separate from his principal campaign account featured in the chart.
• That money can also be spent on ads at the lower, candidate rate as he fends off a double primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas).
• Candidates like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) also have joint fundraising committees.

👀 What to watch: Gov. Janet Mills' (D-Maine) decision to jump into the Maine race just this week means she does not have a Q3 filing, though her campaign announced she raised $1 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign.

— Stef Kight

The National Republican Senatorial Committee posted an AI-doctored video today that features Schumer saying — with a grin — that "every day gets better" for Democrats during the shutdown.

• The quote is real. But he never said it on camera.

Why it matters: There's a lot more of this coming fast in the AI era.

💭 Our thought bubble: No laws ban what the NRSC did here, though there is bipartisan support for the type of watermarking seen in the bottom right corner of the video.

• If this were an ad, the tiny amount of FEC regulation around digital election advertising would not have banned this sort of thing.
• It marks a new normal in how organizations are willing to use AI to spread their messages.

— Ashley Gold

President Trump sent wayward Republicans a loud message last week: Cross me at your own peril.

Why it matters: Trump's eleventh-hour decision to endorse Republican Matt Van Epps in a contested Tennessee House primary — which vaulted Van Epps to a lopsided win — showed he has the power to decide GOP primaries with a single post on his Truth Social account.

• ✅ The president endorsed Van Epps just four days before the primary — a risky move, given that his advisers had just reviewed polling showing Van Epps trailing rival Republican Jody Barrett by 4 percentage points.

It paid off. Van Epps ended up winning by 26 points after Trump's endorsement became the centerpiece of his final days of campaigning.

• 📺 A pro-Van Epps super PAC began running a TV ad promoting Trump's endorsement the day after the president announced it.

The intrigue: Trump's decision to wade into the primary shows he is willing to engage in seriously contested GOP nomination fights.

• So far, the president has only announced his opposition to one Republican member of Congress — Rep. Thomas Massie. The Kentucky lawmaker is soliciting signatures on a discharge petition to unseal files related to the government's Jeffrey Epstein probe.
• But with filing deadlines still open, Trump could conceivably jump into other primaries and punish Republicans who defy him.

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— Alex Isenstadt