Article snippet: The TAKE with Rick Klein It’s not all about who wins and who loses – not when they’re playing the game differently. The end of 2018’s long primary season most likely will not add to the limited tally of the toppled, with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expected to advance over progressive challenger Cynthia Nixon in pursuit of a third term on Thursday. But the Democratic Party is substantially different from what it was even at the end of 2016. Cuomo’s moves to embrace progressive concepts on social, environmental, and criminal justice issues (and spend heavily to promote them) mirrors his party’s evolution toward the left – yet, not necessarily in ways that would imperil electoral chances. Only two incumbent Democratic House members lost their primaries this year, and no incumbent senator had to even sweat it. That helps give Democrats strong odds at taking the House and even a fighting chance of taking the Senate – a one-in-three shot, according to FiveThirtyEight’s new forecast, despite an extraordinarily challenging landscape. One telling detail about how times have changed: Sen. Joe Manchin, whose re-election in West Virginia is critical to those Democratic hopes, famously fired a rifle at cap-and-trade legislation in a campaign ad in 2010. This year, he’s shooting again on TV – this time to preserve Obamacare’s insurance guarantees. The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks One New York state Democratic primary has gotten a lot of attention nationally, ... Link to the full article to read more