Tough time for GOP in Senate races

washington — Republicans are running short of time, money and options to stop Democrats from winning a majority of seats in the US Senate, and with them full control of Congress, in an election that is now only two weeks away.

President Donald Trump’s slide in opinion polls is weighing on Senate Republicans in 10 competitive races, while Democrats are playing defence over two seats, increasing the odds of Trump’s Republicans losing their 5347 majority on November 3.

That gives Democrats a good chance of adding a Senate majority to their control of the House of Representatives, which could either stymie Trump in a second term or usher in a new era of Democratic dominance in Washington if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the White House. “The Republican Party probably has to start thinking about what it can salvage between now and November 3,” said Republican strategist Rory Cooper, a one-time aide to former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

While demographic changes were long expected to work against Republican incumbents, including North Carolina’s Thom Tillis, Arizona’s Martha McSally and Colorado’s Cory Gardner, powerful Republican senators, including South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Iowa’s Joni Ernst, are also facing strong challengers.

Americans have been voting early at an unprecedented pace as they look for ways to avoid exposure to the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 220,000 people in the United States.

Twenty-eight million people have cast early ballots. Democrats have also reported a surge in late campaign donations, outraising Republicans in 12 competitive races by nearly $190 million — $315 million v. $128 million — during the third quarter, according to Federal Election Commission documents.

But Democrats had a smaller advantage in cash on hand, reporting about $106 million v. $83 million for Republicans.

Republicans are seeing “obvious signals that there’s no path forward,” as one Republican aide put it, unless their incumbents can find ways to distance themselves from Trump and his handling of the pandemic without alienating his supporters.

But not all is doom and gloom for Republicans, who believe they can still eke out a 51-seat majority by capturing Democratic seats in Alabama and Michigan and denying Democrats victory in North Carolina, Iowa and other states with strong Republican constituencies. —