Your one-stop guide to Elections 2018
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Races to watch: Keep an eye on these contests.
One of the most closely watched midterm elections in recent memory heads into the homestretch as polls give Democrats a solid chance of taking a majority in the House while Republicans are favored to keep their narrow advantage in the Senate. ❚ Tuesday’s election is widely regarded as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s first two years in office, even though his name will not appear on the ballot. ❚ Trump has been a constant presence on the campaign trial, appearing at rallies for GOP candidates in crucial Senate races. Trump’s closing message has focused on immigration. ❚ Democrats told voters they should be put in charge of Congress to serve as a check on Trump. Democrats hope to win governorships in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – states that were key in electing Trump. ❚ Here are some races to watch.
House
New Jersey’s 7th District
Republican Rep. Leonard Lance’s campaign for a sixth term against Democrat Tom Malinowski is one of four in New Jersey where Republicans face strong Democratic challengers.
Polls: Two polls conducted last week show Malinowski ahead. Monmouth University has Malinowski up by 3 points, while The New York Times/Siena College poll has the Democrat up by 8 points. Virginia’s 7th District
Rep. Dave Brat won a major upset in 2014 when he ousted GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor during the Republican primary. He faces former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger.
Polls: Polls show the race at a virtual tie. Of the three conducted since midSeptember, one showed a tie, one showed Spanberger up by 1 point and the latest showed Brat up by 2 points. Michigan’s 8th District
Rep. Mike Bishop has represented the district on the edge of the Detroit suburbs, in one way or another, for most of the past 20 years. Democrat Elissa Slotkin, a former intelligence officer and Defense Department official, made the race competitive.
Polls: Bishop has held a steady but dwindling lead over Slotkin in most polls. A survey by The New York Times/ Siena College poll showed Slotkin with a 7-point edge. Texas’ 32nd District
In the district just north of Dallas, 11term GOP incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions is in the race of his life, facing Democrat Colin Allred, a civil rights attorney and former football player for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Polls: Two separate polls by The New York Times/Sienna College suggest Allred has momentum. A poll in September showed Sessions with a 1-point lead, but a poll conducted last week showed Allred with a 4-point advantage.
Senate
Indiana
Polling has shown a toss-up race between Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly and Republican Mike Braun. North Dakota
Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was down 9 points against Republican Kevin Cramer in a Fox News poll conducted in late October. Missouri
Pollsters are divided over whether the race between Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley is a jump ball or whether Hawley has a slight advantage. Hawley led 49-46 percent in an Emerson poll conducted in November, within the margin of error. Texas
Democrat Beto O’Rourke seeks an upset win against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz.
O’Rourke raked in huge donations, but polls give Cruz an edge. Every poll in the past week and a half has Cruz with at least 50 percent of the vote. Tennessee
Republican Marsha Blackburn leads Democrat Phil Bredesen. Democrats haven’t won a statewide contest in Ten-
nessee since 2006, when Bredesen won a second term as governor. Arizona
In the battle between Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Rep. Martha McSally, one poll showed McSally up by 6 points, and another showed her with a 1-point lead. A third poll has Sinema up by 1 point. Florida
Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson maintains a slight lead over Republican challenger Gov. Rick Scott. Three separate polls conducted over the weekend show Nelson with leads of 4, 5 and 7 points – all giving the Democrat at least 50 percent of the vote. Nevada
Sen. Dean Heller is the only Republican facing re-election in a state Trump lost. Most polls show Democrat Jacky Rosen with a slight lead within the margin of error.
Governor’s races
Georgia
Democrat Stacey Abrams is vying to become the first African-American woman governor in U.S. history. She is locked in a tight race with GOP Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Polls: Kemp has a 2-point lead in three of the past four polls, including the most recent by Emerson College showing Kemp leading 49 percent to 47 percent. Abrams has a 1-point lead in the fourth. Florida
Democratic Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum aims to become Florida’s first black governor. He ran a liberal campaign while GOP candidate Rep. Ron DeSantis emphasized his close ties to Trump.
Polls: Gillum had a slight lead in most recent polls, well within the margin of error. A Quinnipiac Poll released Monday showed Gillum with a 7-point lead.