**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.** On the roster: Fox News Power Rankings: Candidates still count – Another key Trumpworld figure cuts deal with feds – Fox News Poll: Voters split on confirming Kavanaugh – Florida primary leaving some deep wounds – Putting the head in headshot FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: CANDIDATES STILL COUNTWith just seven primaries left in 2018 we look forward to soon being able to retire – for the time being, at least – from our work of reminding you that candidates count. It is only too easy to look at elections as marshalled armies of data points arrayed against each other on the ballot box battlefield. Thirty-seven percent of whosits voting at a greater intensity than 41 percent of whatsits, etc. This version lets both voters and politicians off too easily and unreasonably reduces the importance of quality candidates. The numbers of whosits and the intensity of the whatsits really does depend on who is running. This week’s changes to the Fox News Power Rankings tell that tale quite clearly. We’re looking at the Senate this week, so first some context is in order. You can click here to see how things stand, but the short version goes like this: Democrats would need to gain two seats to take control of the Senate. There are 36 seats up for grabs this year, but for now only 11 appear to be competitive in any real sense. Of those, Democrats currently control seven and Republicans control four. For Democrats to take the Senate they need to win nine of the 11 most hotly contested races. So you can see why even in a tough year for the GOP, Republicans remain bullish on their chances to actually expand their narrow majority. Doing so would be a lot easier, however, if the Red Team can find a way to not give back any seats. Republicans could take a good step in that direction on Tuesday in Arizona. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake is retiring and his departure touched off what at the outset looked to be one of the worst primary battles of 2018. Rep. Martha McSally has the backing of the GOP establishment and has shown prodigious fundraising abilities and solid political skills in a state where maverick-y voters tend to defy conventional political definitions. Unfortunately for her, McSally drew former state lawmaker Kelli Ward as her principal primary foe. Ward gained national attention in 2016 when she tried to unseat Sen. John McCain. She fell short after a nasty race, but demonstrated her powerful connection to the large contingent of Arizona populist nationalists of the Trump variety. But McSally has caught a couple of breaks. First was the candidacy of former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, recipient of a preemptive pardon from President Trump and a hero to immigration hardliners. Arpaio’s entry meant Ward had to cover her own right flank rather than focusing on McSally. McSally’s other good fortune was that the Trump movement and the president himself opted to stay out of the
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