Republicans are doing everything that has worked in the past to rally the base in the Trump era. The president is holding daily rallies, billionaires have filled dark-money super PACs with cash, ads are flooding the airwaves, and conservative media is an endless drumbeat of promotion of GOP candidates and warnings of doom if Democrats win.
Even with fewer Americans watching television through traditional means, the cable news networks remain a decent barometer of engagement and interest. Fox News remains the dominant network on cable news. Fox has cornered the market on conservative viewership and has a big lead on both MS NOW and CNN in terms of viewers.
The Fox bloc is also some of the most dedicated Republican voters in America. Die-hard Fox News watchers vote regularly, and they vote Republican.
However, in the midst of this Republican push to get their voters motivated and to the polls, Fox News viewership has plummeted.
Fox News is a barometer of Republican interest and engagement, and it is currently showing the same thing that Republican operatives have been saying for months. Trump and his party have an enthusiasm problem, and it seems to be getting bigger.