These Five Senate Races Are Super Close Calls
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Democrats are on the offense in the Senate race before Election Day. The Democratic party is defending 12 seats, while the Republican party is defending 23 seats. Democrats need to win four seats to win control of the Senate, or three seats if Joe Biden wins the White House since the vice president breaks ties in the Senate. Here are five of the tightest 2020 senate races.
Senator Doug Jones (D-AL)
Democratic Senator Doug Jones has energized Alabama’s Democratic voters, but Alabama typically votes Republican. Since the beginning of the 2020 Senate election cycle, Jones has raised approximately $25 million, with roughly 83 percent of these donations coming from out-of-state contributors. These out-of-state earnings are the fourth-highest amount of Democratic Senate candidates.
Despite Jones’ advantage over Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville, it will be challenging for him to garner many Republican voters. Jones narrowly defeated his rival in the 2017 Senate election, Republican nominee Roy Moore, who infamously faced sexual assault allegations along the campaign trail. Most recently, Jones, among other Senate Democrats, said he would oppose voting on a Trump Supreme Court nominee before Election Day.
Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ)
Republican Senator Martha McSally is facing a difficult path to victory for her seat in the upper chamber. The latest fundraising reports have shown that McSally’s opponent, Democratic candidate Mark Kelly, had a massive contribution advantage as of mid-July. Additionally, according to three polls, McSally is trailing Kelly. While one poll found that Kelly’s lead over McSally is growing slimmer, the other two showed McSally behind Kelly by as many as eight points.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Senator Lindsey Graham, who prominently supported the rush to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat with Amy Coney Barrett, is facing unexpected competition from Democratic Senate nominee Jaime Harrison. Harrison is challenging Graham with recording-breaking contributions to his campaign, and on Saturday, Harrison announced his campaign raised over two million dollars in 48 hours.
This cash influx came after Harrison asked his supporters to donate towards a $10 million goal to match Graham’s contributions. The $10 million contribution in question came from the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, which donated $10 million towards ads against Harrison in South Carolina to increase Graham’s chances. The Graham-Harrison race is the most expensive Senate race in South Carolina history.
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI)
Senator Gary Peters is the only Democrat running for reelection this year in Michigan, which Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Republicans are excited by Peters’ opponent, John James, an Iraq war veteran and Black businessman who lost Michigan’s 2018 Senate race. A recent poll released showed Peters with a narrow lead of 49 percent compared to James’ 44 percent of likely voters.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC)
Senator Thom Tillis faces a formidable challenge from Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham. Currently, Cunningham has a slight edge in North Carolina even though his extramarital affair was recently exposed. Last Tuesday, Cunningham led Tillis by only two points, though Cunningham outraised Tillis in the last quarter.
If you live in a possible Senate swing state, how do you think you’ll vote? Sound off in the comments!