A Democratic Senate Is Looking More and More Likely

Dems need 4 Senate seats; new prediction says they could get 7
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 25, 2016 2:54 PM CDT
Odds Increase for Democratic Senate Under President Clinton
If she wins, President Hillary Clinton could have a Democratic Senate to work with.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

With a Hillary Clinton victory looking increasingly imminent, the outlook is getting rosier for a Democratic Senate as well, according to the Cook Political Report. MarketWatch reports that 24 Republican Senate seats are being decided this election. Democrats need to pick up four of those to set up a 50/50 split in the Senate with a Vice President Tim Kaine as the tie-breaker. Thanks to a downward trend that started with the release of Donald Trump's Access Hollywood tape, the Cook Political Report now predicts Democrats will pick up anywhere between five and seven seats. The most likely are in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, according to Politico. Clinton leads in the polls in all but two states where Senate races are seen as toss-ups, and historically one party takes the lion's share of those during presidential elections.

Despite the fact that Republicans are likely to keep control of the House, a Democratic Senate could be huge for a President Clinton, MarketWatch argues. House Republicans might decide it's time to try compromising after losing a sixth popular vote in the past seven presidential elections, not to mention trying to undo some of the damage to the brand done by Trump. Clinton also worked well with Republicans while in the Senate. On the other side of the aisle, Republican Senate candidates are trying to get "casual Republicans" to the polls with a "don't-give-Clinton-a-blank-check message." It's a strategy that could work, but with early voting already underway in 27 states, time is running out. (More Senate stories.)

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