Trump looms over Congress races

GOP hitches fortunes to leader, Dems position themselves against him in battle for legislative control.

WASHINGTON — The battle for control of Congress is solidifying into a race about President Donald Trump, as Republicans hitch their fortunes to their party’s leader and Democrats position themselves as a bulwark against him — and as partners in a potential Joe Biden White House.

So far, voters are signaling they want to finish the job they started in 2018 by installing Democrats for House majority control. Now, they’re on track to potentially do the same in the Senate.

“The president continues to overshadow and impact the races for the Senate and the House,” said Nathan Gonzales, the editor of Inside Elections, which tracks the campaigns.

The congressional races provide a snapshot of an electorate ahead of a voting season unlike any other. The coronavirus crisis, a shattered economy and a new civil rights era are forcing a reassessment of the way the federal government approaches longstanding problems. In a volatile political climate, health care, jobs and even what the parties are calling the soul of the nation are all on the ballot.

As Democrats gain momentum, Republicans are digging in, echoing Trump’s criticism of the nationwide protests over police violence, particularly against Black people. He sounds dire warnings about the demonstrations happening in some cities. It’s an opening for the GOP, an attempt to win back wary suburban voters, particularly white women, who voted for Trump in 2016 but have since drifted away.

“It’s a winning message,” said Bob Salera, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm.

The NRCC used Trump’s recent visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to unleash a flurry of attacks against vulnerable Democrats, primarily those freshmen who built the House majority in 2018 from districts the president won in 2016. One television ad claimed a Democrat was choosing “criminals over cops.”

The Democratic campaigns are taking an opposite approach. As their calling card to voters, they are offering health care policy — preserving and expanding the coverage under the Affordable Care Act and strategies to end the COVID-19 crisis.

Ten ads released by House Democrats last week targeted Republicans who voted to repeal and replace “Obamacare” or pushed a quick economic reopening despite COVID-19 health risks. Democratic Senate candidates are taking similar cues as they appeal to voters concerned about health care access or costs.

The former vice president is eyeing a handful of Senate seats he believes Democrats could wrest from Republicans, with plans to campaign in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and other states where Republican senators are vulnerable.

Republicans hold a slim 53-47 majority in the Senate. That means they could afford to lose two or three seats, while Democrats would need to pick up three or four for a working majority.

While election season began with the parties on defense, protecting their incumbent senators, it has shifted to a decidedly lopsided Senate map. Only one Democrat, Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama, appears seriously at risk of defeat, running in a Deep South state where Trump is more popular than almost anywhere else.

The list of potentially endangered Republican senators has only grown. Sen. Cory Gardner is running against popular former Gov. John Hickenlooper in Colorado, a state that has become more Democratic blue than tossup purple. In battleground Arizona, Republican Sen. Martha McSally is trailing Democrat Mark Kelly, a former astronaut. GOP Sen. Susan Collins is relying on her independent brand to try to fend off challenger Sara Gideon in Maine.