Andrew Stiles of the Washington Free Beacon compiles a list of potential scapegoats Democrats can blame in the event of poor electoral outcomes.

Journalists and other left-wing activists are freaking out over a New York Times poll that shows Republicans leading Democrats by 4 percentage points among likely voters ahead of next month’s midterm elections. They were particularly aggrieved by the poll’s finding that Republicans were tied with Democrats at 47 percent among female voters and were supported by 34 percent of Hispanic voters and 18 percent of black voters. Those are terrible numbers for Democrats.

We don’t know how the election is going to play out, but at least one thing is guaranteed: If Democrats lose, they are going to blame everyone but themselves for the outcome. Here are the top 10 scapegoats Democrats are likely to blame for the party’s poor performance at the ballot box in November.

10) Vladimir Putin 

The Russian dictator’s ill-advised invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in oil prices, which forced voters to support Republicans. (Never mind that President Joe Biden responded by depleting the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve while blocking efforts to expand domestic oil production.) If Democrats lose, there’s a good chance that some politicians and media pundits will suggest (without evidence) that Russian hacking played a role in their defeat.

9) The Saudis

Pundits are already accusing the Saudis of conspiring to damage Democrats in the midterms after OPEC+ member states announced a steep cut in oil production earlier this month. It’s just not fair, especially since Biden debased himself by bumping fists with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after promising to make the Saudi leader a “pariah.”

8) The Federal Reserve 

Ryan Cooper, managing editor of the left-wing American Prospect, responded to the Times poll by lashing out at the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates and “failing to contain inflation.” Fed chairman Jerome Powell, he wrote on Twitter, was “going to hand Congress to the GOP” and lay the ground for Republicans to “abolish democracy” and “do a bunch of heinous gestapo shit” because “normie swing voters” were concerned about inflation.