Battle for Senate control down to wire

The race for control of the Senate is tearing toward its finale on a last-minute burst of cash from both sides, with a halfdozen top races essentially tied.

The outcomes of those contests, in states from Nevada to Missouri to New Hampshire, will determine which party can claim the Senate majority next year. The late-breaking news of a renewed FBI investigation related to Hillary Clinton’s emails has the potential to shift the campaigns in favor of the GOP.

Republicans have been fretting about the possibility that the toss-up races will break against them on Nov. 8. History shows that close races tend to move one way as a group. In 2014, Republicans won a swath of Senate races and took back control of the chamber from the Democrats.

This time, with Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket and inflaming divisions within the party, the concern was that the leading races would all go for Democrats.