I was texting with a Democratic member of Congress the other day when I casually mentioned a figure that had confounded me: Adam Schiff, the highly-visible Mueller-era liberal hero who represents the wealthy L.A. adjacent exurbs, had raised $18.6 million dollars this cycle between his campaign committee and leadership PAC. In fact, I noted, Schiff has $20 million in his war chest. “Holy Fuck, that’s a huge amount” this member responded, wholly gobsmacked, but fully cognizant that Schiff’s financial prowess was his most tantalizing argument to replace Nancy Pelosi if or when she steps down after the midterms. (I’ll spare you the bellicose, obfuscating pushback from her spokesperson, who denies this without actually denying it.)