Jen Psaki says Democrats know ‘they will LOSE’ in November if midterms are a ‘referendum’ on Biden

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that Democrats know ‘they will lose’ midterm races across the country if the elections become a referendum on her old boss, President Joe Biden.

She added to her prediction that crime will continue to be a ‘huge vulnerability’ for Democrats who are hoping to upend grim predictions for their election success in November.

Meanwhile, a new CBS News battleground tracker poll suggests rising crime is a top issue for nearly 7 in 10 voters this year – and that they believe the GOP has an edge of how to solve it.

Speaking during a panel discussion on NBC News’ Meet The Press, Psaki outlined two potential roads for Democrats – as the elections creep up less than 50 days away.

‘I think that Democrats, if the election is about who is the most extreme…then they’re going to win,’ the newly-minted MSNBC host said.

‘If it is a referendum on the president, they will lose, and they know that.’

Her comments appear to support Democrats’ latest strategy of heaping verbal attacks against ‘MAGA Republicans,’ which leaders from Biden to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and numerous left-wing lawmakers have decried as ‘extremists.’

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, now an MSNBC host, weighed in on Democrats’ midterm election prospects during a Meet The Press panel discussion

It comes as a new CBS News battleground tracker poll shows the economy, inflation and crime among the top issues on likely midterm voters’ minds

The aggressive new plan is Democrats’ latest bid to energize their base to turn out in November.

Meanwhile, a new CBS News battleground tracker poll showed Republicans maintaining a small but clear lead in the House of Representatives as of Sunday – though it’s shrunken somewhat since July.

The GOP is estimated to have 223 seats in the new Congress, more than the 218 threshold for the majority but slightly fewer members than the 226 that were predicted to succeed in August.

In the Senate, CBS is projecting 48 seats each for Democrats and Republicans. Four races – Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada – are up in the air.

Psaki predicted Sunday that the issue of crime would continue to weigh Democrats down – citing Republican efforts in the Pennsylvania Senate race, where ex-Braddock Mayor and current Lt. Governor John Fetterman is facing off against Trump-backed celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Speaking of the left, she said: ‘They also know that crime is a huge vulnerability for Democrats, I would say one of the biggest vulnerabilities.’

She said Democrats could win ‘if the election is about who is the most extreme’ but would lose if it’s a referendum on her old boss, President Joe Biden

Discussing crime as a vulnerability issue, Psaki cited the ‘millions of dollars’ being spent by Republicans in Pennsylvania against Lt. Governor John Fetterman in the open Senate race there

‘In Pennsylvania, Republicans have been spending millions of dollars on the air on crime ads against Fetterman, because that’s where they see vulnerabilities,’ Psaki claimed.

‘So yes, the economy is hanging over everything, but you have do have look at state-by-state factors and crime is a huge issue in the Pennsylvania race.’

And according to CBS News’ new poll, voters think Republicans are the party better equipped to alleviate their crime fears.

A 38-percent plurality said Republican policies make them feel safer from violent crime, compared to 29 percent who backed Democratic policies. A third said both equally and/or neither. 

But nationwide, voters’ biggest issue remains the economy, the poll taken September 21-23 suggests.

More than 8 in 10 US voters said the economy was a ‘very important’ consideration when choosing who to send to Congress. Inflation came in second with 76 percent.

And crime was third with 67 percent of respondents labeling it a ‘very important’ issue. 

Biden’s job approval remains underwater as well, with 45 percent of respondents ‘strongly’ or ‘somewhat’ approving of his White House tenure so far.

Forty-four percent said they ‘strongly’ disapprove of the president, and just 11 percent ‘somewhat disapprove’ of him.