Democrats appear to be in trouble as they try to retain control of the Senate in next year’s midterm elections, various polls indicate.
With the current Senate split evenly along party lines — with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tiebreaking votes — losing one seat would swing control to the Republicans.
A new poll shows Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., could be vulnerable in 2022, Newsweek reported Friday.
Her opponent, Republican Adam Laxalt, holds a 39% to 37% lead, based on a poll conducted from Sept. 11-15 by Republican pollster Chris Wilson of WPA Intelligence.
In the poll, conducted among 504 likely voters with a margin of error of 4.4%, 12% of respondents were undecided and another 12% chose “none of the above.”
“Internal polling from September shows that this has quickly become a very tight race,” Laxalt campaign polling memo said. “With each passing day of the Biden presidency, the environment gets better for Republicans.”
Another poll, conducted Aug. 9-14 by VCreek/AMG poll, showed Laxalt holding a 10-point cushion. That poll was conducted among 567 registered voters and had a margin of error of 4.11%.
Democrat incumbents besides Cortez Masto also appear vulnerable.
GOP New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu leads Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., 49% to 48%, according a Saint Anselm College poll conducted Aug. 24-26. That poll had a margin of error of 2.3% and surveyed 1,855 registered voters.
In Georgia, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., leads former NFL star Herschel Walker by just 2 points, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Aug. 4-5. The poll was conducted among 622 voters and had a margin of error of 3.9%.
Former President Donald Trump strongly encouraged Walker to run for Warnock’s seat.
The midterms will include several races in battleground states, namely North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where Republican senators are retiring.
In Wisconsin, GOP Sen. Ron Johnson hasn’t announced whether he will run for reelection.
A Clarity Campaign Labs poll conducted Sept. 8-11 showed Johnson tied with potential Democrat candidate Mandela Barnes, the state’s lieutenant governor.
Late last month, NBC News reported that Democrats had accelerated fundraising toward targeting nine states in their bid to retain control of the Senate in the midterms, NBC News reported.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s $30 million for its Defend the Majority program represents the largest financial commitment this early in an election cycle, sources told NBC News.
The DSCC initially will focus on Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
