U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the media outside of his office on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Aaron Schwartz REFILE - CORRECTING DATE FROM "JUNE 30" TO "SEPTEMBER 16".
An elections expert said Monday that he's seen no "signs of life" from the GOP in some key races ahead of tomorrow's consequential midterm elections.
Kyle Kondik, managing editor of "Sabato's Crystal Ball" at the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said on CNN's "Countdown to Election Day" that Democrats have a reasonable chance of walking away from the midterms with control of at least 53 Senate seats. He pointed to issues like President Donald Trump's backsliding popularity and the overall strength of Democratic candidates in some races compared to their GOP counterparts.
Kondik also mentioned that his projections give Republicans "the benefit of the doubt" in some states where they have performed well historically.
"There's a world in which maybe Democrats can even get higher than 53, which again, is kind of crazy to say and not something I would have thought a month or two ago," Kondik told CNN's Boris Sanchez. "But that's just the way the cycle's developed."
Kondik's comments come on the heels of the final New York Times/Siena poll, which found Democratic candidates held an advantage over Republicans in all of the midwestern Senate races. He cautioned that Republicans still have a chance to retain the majority, but momentum seems to clearly favor the Democrats.
"We kept waiting for Republicans to show signs of consolidation and signs of life in these states where they're typically pretty dominant, and you just don't see it here at the end of the line," Kondik said.
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