The Key Battles for Senate Control Are Set

With yesterday’s victory in Michigan for Abdul El-Sayed, one of the last pieces has fallen into place in key midterm races that will decide whether Republicans maintain control of the US Senate or Democrats take over the upper chamber.

NC Leans Blue

With the retirement of Thom Tillis, North Carolina is the most likely state to flip from Republican to Democrat, according to the Cook Political Report. The race pits former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) against Michael Whatley, former Republican National Committee Chairman and an ally of President Donald Trump. Liberty Nation News’ Public Square polling aggregator shows Cooper ahead of Whatley 49.3% to 41% as of Wednesday, August 5.

With fewer than 100 days until Election Day, political action committees are ramping up spending in the state, including the Senate Leadership Fund, which has vowed to spend a whopping $71 million to support Whatley in the high-stakes race. The Senate Majority PAC, on the other hand, announced more than $30 million in ads to help Cooper win in November.

Senate Toss-ups

Cook lists four toss-ups in November’s Senate races: Alaska, Maine, Michigan, and Ohio. Alaska’s competition between incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R) and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D) was initially considered an easy Republican victory until candidate Dan J. Sullivan entered the race, creating a confusing ballot that was enough to shift the contest into toss-up territory. According to LNN’s Public Square, Peltola leads Sullivan 48.1% to 45%.

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Maine’s incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R) is also trailing her Democrat challenger, former state Senate president Troy Jackson, 49% to 46%. Jackson recently replaced disgraced Democrat nominee Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race amid a slew of alarming allegations, all of which he denies. Despite the controversies plaguing the Democratic Party in Maine, the left remains confident that it will take the Pine Tree State’s Senate seat. 

In Michigan, Democrat El-Sayed holds a razor-thin lead over former Rep. Mike Rogers (R), 44.3% to 43.8%, Liberty Nation News’ polling aggregator shows. El-Sayed’s success reflects the growing ideological divide within the Democratic Party – a vulnerability Republicans hope to capitalize on in the midterms.

“Abdul El-Sayed’s victory marks another devastating loss for Chuck Schumer in his civil war with Bernie Sanders as Democrats position Mike Rogers to defeat socialism’s newest standard-bearer in November,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Ohio is also in the mix of toss-up states, with incumbent Sen. Jon Husted set to face former Sen. Sherrod Brown. Husted, who was appointed to the US Senate by Gov. Mike DeWine after JD Vance stepped down to assume the role of vice president, hopes to win a full term in the upper chamber, but Brown currently leads Husted 47.4% to 47%, according to LNN’s Public Square. 

Republicans may be projecting confidence in November’s midterms, but they’re trailing in the polls on every toss-up race. Democrats need to net at least four seats to take control of the Senate – a daunting task, to be sure, but certainly not an impossible one.