According to a report from CNN, recent polling indicates that Democrats are on track to take control of the Republican-held Senate in November with one pollster stating "Democratic chances of winning control of the chamber have improved significantly (in the last nine months)."
With the highly-respected Cook Political Report now stating that "Democrats are now a slight favorite to win the Senate majority," CNN political analyst Chris Hickey said Republicans -- with Donald Trump at the head of the ticket -- are struggling to keep their heads above water with voters.
"There are 35 Senate seats at stake this November, 12 of which are held by Democrats and 23 by Republicans. That gives the Republicans an inherent advantage. But since November of last year, that strong Republican defense has slowly been eroding, opening up the possibility for Democrats to net enough seats for a majority takeover," Hickey wrote, before adding, "Since November 2019, Republicans in Cook's forecast have made headway in deeply red Alabama and Mississippi but have lost ground in nine other states. Those include not just battleground states like North Carolina and Arizona, but also Georgia, Montana and Kansas, which have reliably voted GOP for decades. Every seat downgraded by forecasters presents another pathway for Democrats to win the 16 races needed for a majority."
While the re-election of Democrat Doug Jones (AL) has moved to "Leans Republican" by Cook, other U.S. Senate seats in reliable conservative states now are imperiled, the report notes.
"Despite the GOP's inherent advantages going into this race, a series of events have not gone the party's way this election year. Democrats are running strong candidates and matching or out-fundraising their rivals even in traditionally red states such as Alaska, Montana and South Carolina. Montana, which Cook rated Solidly Republican as recently as March, became a Tossup after its popular governor, Steve Bullock, won the Democratic primary," with Cook's Senate editor Jessica Taylor adding, "In a presidential election year, even down-ballot elections are often driven by the top of the ticket, and that's especially true with a president that has such an iron grip on his party."
The report notes that Georgia, where both Senate seats are held by Republicans, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue is looking problematic for Republicans with Loeffler's seat rated "lean Republican" and Perdue's moving into "toss-up" territory.
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