Senate 2016: The Democrats Strike Back

[BlueMTexpat]

Democrats have a good map, but early evidence suggests a close race for majority control.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/senate-2016-the-democrats-strike-back/

It may come as a shock given all the attention being paid to the presidential race this year, but the president isn’t all-powerful. In fact, the U.S. Congress is supposed to be a coequal branch of the federal government. From voting on important legislation to confirming Cabinet appointees and federal judges, the Senate matters.

Right now, Republicans hold 54 seats to the Democrats’ 46 (including two independents who caucus with the Democrats). The Democrats have a favorable map in 2016: Of the 34 seats up for grabs, 24 are held by Republicans. Democrats need to net four seats to win control of the Senate if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency and five seats if Donald Trump wins. We’ll launch our official Senate projections later this year, but it’s not too early to take a more informal tour through the races. The combination of the polling, the political lean of the states being contested and the candidates running suggests a close race for control of the chamber.

The biggest factor working in the Democrats’ favor is fairly simple: Senate election results are increasingly tied to the presidential vote in each state:

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[tonyt53]

1. Sad that Bernie has only supported a single person running for the Senate

Maybe he thinks the president alone can do the things he wants. For this election cycle it will take massive amounts of money. That is the only way that money will be removed from being a factor in future elections.

[BlueMTexpat]

3. The down-ticket races are every bit as important

as the Presidency ... and sometimes even more so.

But I am likely preaching to the converted.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. Let's kick Trump's orange ass and retake control of the Senate.

[BlueMTexpat]

4. Amen to that! eom

[Democrats Ascendant]

5. Ready. Let's do this thing!

Taking back the Senate, keeping the Big Chair!!