The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Potential Democrat Senate majority could boost Blumenthal, Murphy
WASHINGTON — A week before the election, Democrats are slightly favored to win control of the U.S. Senate, a change that would allow Connecticut’s Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy to flex their influence in the majority for the first time since 2015.
Not on the ballot this year, Blumenthal and Murphy have been working to boost the Democratic Senate candidates who are.
Both have been active in fundraising for Democrats in key races. Blumenthal hosted a fundraiser for vulnerable Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., in his Greenwich home and has participated in virtual events for many candidates. Through frequent call-outs, Murphy and Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, have raised about $ 2.72 million on Twitter for Senate Democratic candidates in 2020, Murphy’s campaign said.
Perhaps no senator has been more pivotal to Democrats’ near prospects of a return to the majority than Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y. Schumer has been working behind the scenes for this outcome for more than a year by recruiting candidates, fundraising, crafting the Democratic message and coordinating efforts between the campaigns of former Vice President Joe Biden and his Senate hopefuls.
"I'm doing everything I can," Schumer said in a recent interview. "The best thing to do is to support candidates who really represent their states well, and I think we've been able to do that."
Control of the Senate will be a key determinant of whether a President Biden or President Donald Trump are able to pass legislation, fill their cabinets and appoint judges over the next four years.
“It would be a powerhouse relationship with a Majority Leader Schumer to the benefit of Connecticut, but it would change the national agenda,” Blumenthal said. “I’m increasingly encouraged and hopeful by what I’m hearing and seeing.”
Tight races in several GOP-held seats and historic fundraising by Democrats in the third quarter are positive signs that Senate Democrats may grow their conference, which now has 47 members.
Political forecasters at FiveThirtyEight predicted Friday that Democrats have a 74 percent chance of winning a majority. The University of Virginia's Center for Politics found Democrats are "a small favorite to win the Senate, if only thanks to a potential tiebreaking vote from a Democratic vice president," on Tuesday.
"The Democrats at the Senate level are benefiting from the confluence of really good candidates, some drag on Republicans from being associated with an unpopular Trump administration and the demographic shifts in the country," said Chris Mann, assistant professor of political science at Skidmore College.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., who is up for re-election this year, said in a telephone call with constituents last week that Trump was driving voters to the left, according to a recording obtained by the Washington Examiner.
"I'm worried that if President Trump loses, as looks likely, he's going to take the Senate down with it," Sasse said.
This year, 23 seats held by Republicans and 12 seats held by Democrats are on the ballot, making it easier for Democrats to go on the offensive.
Cook Political Report rates seven seats as tossups, all ones currently held by Republicans. They are the seats of Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue of Georgia, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Seats held by Republican Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona and Cory Gardner of Colorado lean Democratic, while Democrat Sen. Jones's spot leans Republican.
“The map that gets us to a Senate majority is enormous,” said Murphy. “We have a tie race in Alaska, we have a lead in Iowa, we’re within the margin of error in Texas. We have a chance to win everywhere.”
Most forecasts predict Democrats will hold between 50 and 55 seats after the election, with Republicans in control of between 45 and 50. The chamber's majority could hinge on a few thousand votes, or less, in one or two states.
"I think it's very likely the Republicans could win five, six or even seven of these seats, or Democrats could win them all because the forces that are driving these races are similar in lots of these places," Mann said.
As Biden outperforms Trump in the polls, Schumer has asked the presidential candidate to assist Democratic candidates in certain states, the senator said.
“I’ve asked them to up their campaign activities in certain states because it would help our Senate candidates — and they have," Schumer said, declining to provide further specifics.
Mann said he sees Schumer as a "big factor" in Democrats' strong challenge to the Republican majority.
"Schumer has been a leader in the party and climbed the ranks because he has been very good at helping candidates raise money, both directly and (guiding) them toward experienced staff members and mentoring them," Mann said.
"You also have to give him a lot of credit for recruiting a lot of top-line Democrats into a lot of these races," Mann added. "He has convinced them that he has a chance of becoming majority leader ... and that he will do what it takes to put them in positions where they will enjoy their jobs, in committee assignments and those sorts of things. The sophistication to play that insider game is an important piece of what it takes to get there."
As voters across the country are casting ballots, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is making big investments in paid television and digital communications in Iowa, Montana and North Carolina, along with South Carolina and Texas. The DSCC raised $ 83.8 million in the third quarter (ending Sept. 30), a historic record for any congressional party committee, the DSCC said Tuesday
SCC fundraising is in addition to huge hauls that individual Democratic candidates secured: Jaime Harrison of South Carolina posted a record-shattering $ 57 million raised last quarter, compared to $ 28 million raised by Graham, who led Republican fundraising in the Senate.