Republicans Scramble To Defend Mitch McConnell’s Senate Majority
Republicans are rushing to save GOP control of the U.S. Senate, spending $20 million in deeply conservative states that have become unexpected battlegrounds as a surge of small-dollar donations gives Democrats the upper hand in states likely to make or break the Senate majority.
As President Donald Trump’s reelection position continues to deteriorate amid his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, the GOP is watching Democrats seize the lead in Senate races they once hoped to win and turn states previously seen as safe for Republicans into heavily contested battlegrounds. Democratic chances of winning the Senate and seizing complete control of the federal government are higher than at any point this election cycle.
“The trend line is bad for these guys,” said J.B. Poersch, the president of Senate Majority PAC, the major super PAC backing Democratic Senate candidates. “In my world, there haven’t been a lot of down polls in the past few weeks.”
Democrats have long been confident of victory over incumbent Republicans in Arizona and Colorado, and national strategists in both parties now agree Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins is unlikely to survive a challenge from Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon. Republicans also have been increasingly nervous about the standing of North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, though a sex scandal involving his Democratic opponent has allowed Tillis to go on offense in what had been a stable race.
The GOP holds a 53-47 Senate majority, and the high likelihood Republicans will oust Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones on Election Day next month means Democrats need to defeat at least four incumbent Republicans to wrest control of the Senate from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Republican hopes of retaining their majority now rest on sweeping four races in a trio of states that both parties agree are toss-ups ― Montana, Iowa and Georgia ― and also somehow snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in...
