Meanwhile, Wallace admitted that these days, she tends to yield time to the Democrats when it comes to Donald Trump because "they usually say everything I was going to say." But she then asked for a show of hands: "How many of you know someone, live near someone, or are related to someone who is a Trump supporter?" When nearly everyone in the packed room raised a hand, she dryly said, "It's not over."

"We Republicans are all in a 10-step program rounding the corner toward acceptance that this is our new reality," she quipped. She then noted that although many are waiting for the public to declare the race over because it seems so obvious to people who live in New York and Washington, "there's nothing obvious about this cycle."

Wallace was often scathing in her comments about her party's nominee, describing his candidacy as "cloaked in demagoguery with overt racial themes like the banning of an entire class of people, which is unconstitutional, unAmerican and unsound," yet she noted that he still holds a relatively high approval rating among the party's base. 

"That's something that everyone should stop and go figure out," she said. "[Republicans] want to make sure this doesn't happen again. They need to get out of Washington and go talk to people and understand why are they so scared that they support someone who says things that you would forbid your child to ever say out loud at school because they'd get suspended." 

So why is Trump still only 10 points behind? "I think there's a lot of things going on in this country that might not be politically correct, that may not be the types of positions or beliefs that people are proud of," she said.

"I call him 'political chemo.' He might be the medicine that's so strong it wipes out every healthy blood cell in the political bloodstream. A lot of voters think he might be the one thing that can cure the cancer of a corrupt Washington, of a political establishment more interested in perpetuating jobs and lobbyists and the status quo. This thing isn't over."

What about the ACA?

Both Cutter and Wallace agreed that if elected, Clinton would likely adopt a "mend it, don't end it" approach toward the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Meanwhile, Cutter described Trump's position on the law as "retreads" of Republican positions that aren't part of a larger, connected plan. 

Health care reform will likely come under discussion frequently during the presidential debates, both analysts said. But will Trump present some "real answers" or continue to describe his plans with vague terms such as "huge" and "tremendous"?  

Actually, it may not matter, according to Cutter. "It probably doesn't do him any good to put out more details, because that's not what his candidacy is about … he's happier pointing out what's wrong with this country, not what's right. If that's the case, there's really no pressure on you to put out there the details of how you're going to make it right."

But Wallace noted that with a candidate like Trump who hasn't previously been involved in politics, it's important to observe his instincts. "When I look at health care and guns and Planned Parenthood, Donald Trump reveals himself as a lifelong Democrat, which he is. Many politicians don't know what they'd do about health care if they were president; Donald Trump doesn't know exactly what he'd do. Until he learned that 'mandates' were bad words for Republicans, he was for them. His instincts are actually very un-Republican." 

What if Trump wins?

In order for Trump to win the White House, Cutter said, something big will have to happen. Even so, she noted that in that scenario, "it's unlikely the Democrats would take back the Senate, but they won't lose seats, which means the margins will remain very tight, which means nothing is going to get passed if we follow the traditional policy proposals on health care." 

The big question then becomes whether Trump will "go the traditional Republican route and try to repeal the ACA or put policy fixes on the table." At that point, it's a matter of what Republicans would go along with, Cutter said.

What if Clinton wins?

If Clinton were to win, Cutter believes "she is serious about putting some fixes on the table. There is broad support in the Democratic party for some of these fixes, but there's been a fear that once you start opening it up with a Republican Senate and House, that you can't stop the unwinding of it."

What's next? 

Both Cutter and Wallace were understandably reluctant to offer too many concrete predictions about the coming months. However, Wallace noted that if Trump can somehow transform how he's seen by a demographic group such as mothers that historically decides late in the process, "it's very much in reach." 

She noted that the wild card may be that "Trump could decide he doesn't want to lose this thing, that he doesn't want to be humiliated … I don't think he's trying that hard right now. If he decides to try hard and do some of these things, it's possible that he does something to alter the demographics. That's why I wake up every morning and grope for my glasses and my iPhone. Because every day is a new mystery."