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GOP Senate Majority Faces Uncertainty as Key Races Tighten
· Confirmed
In Short: The U.S. midterm elections face uncertainty as key Senate races tighten, with Trump and Obama campaigning in Ohio.
The most important elections in next Tuesday's U.S. midterms are in the handful of states and districts where polling suggests the Republicans and Democrats are locked in tight races.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., calls Ohio 'ground zero' for the crucial midterm election while campaigning with Republican Senate nominee Jon Husted on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
In the Ohio race, 3% of respondents said they were still undecided, while less than 1% said they planned to vote for some third candidate.
Former President Barack Obama in a campaign rally in Cleveland Saturday said hotly contested races in Ohio provide Democrats a direct avenue to try to halt the agenda of President Donald Trump over the next two years.
Between Sept. 21 and Oct. 7, such spending in House races alone grew by nearly $190 million, according to an OpenSecrets analysis of Federal Election Commission data on independent expenditures.
Trump rallies in South Carolina with 13 days until midterms.
To achieve a 51-49 Senate majority, Democrats need a net gain of four seats.
If Democrats can't hold Michigan, their path to a Senate majority becomes significantly tougher.
Republicans are spending the final week ahead of the midterm elections defending historically red Senate seats that have suddenly become competitive, according to federal filings and sources familiar with the matter.
Hackers tried to breach the Federal Election Commission’s systems just one week before the midterm elections, forcing the agency to shut down electronic filing services and disrupting the public’s ability to track new campaign spending disclosures during the final stretch of election season.
The FEC said its information technology staff were working to restore service.
Outside groups have been spending at a particularly rapid pace in the final days of the campaign.
What this adds
The U.S. midterm elections face uncertainty as key Senate races tighten, with Trump and Obama campaigning in Ohio. This adds to the ongoing tension and uncertainty surrounding the midterms.
The timing of the hack on the FEC systems is particularly concerning as campaigns and outside political groups pour money into competitive congressional races ahead of Election Day on November 3.
The Democratic Party's target to take control of the House of Representatives is well within reach according to polling analysis, adding another layer of uncertainty to the midterms.
Background
The U.S. midterm elections face uncertainty as key Senate races tighten, with Trump and Obama campaigning in Ohio.
Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, three days before a general election.
What's confirmed
- The most important elections in next Tuesday's U.S. midterms are in the handful of states and districts where polling suggests the Republicans and Democrats are locked in tight races.
- He waited until after the midterms, in which the Republicans lost control of the United States Congress, to fire Donald Rumsfeld as his secretary of defence, who had led the increasingly unpopular war against Iraq.
- Uncertainty over the 45-year-old's future in the Old Trafford hotseat has been rife following a disastrous week that has seen the Red Devils suffer heavy defeats to Como (4-1) in the Champions League and Bournemouth (3-0) in the Premier League.
- "I examined his ass," the president said at a rally in Kentucky on Oct. 17.
- To achieve a 51-49 Senate majority, Democrats need a net gain of four seats.
- If Democrats can't hold Michigan, their path to a Senate majority becomes significantly tougher.
- "hordes of jihadis to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror."
- Here's a look at the pivotal races to watch in Tuesday's midterm elections.
What's still developing
- This item was delivered with an ultimatum: use the list within the next two days to review the names and prepare to separate their mail-in ballots when returned—or get sued.
- On the other, global uncertainty tied to the rapidly expanding Middle East conflict is driving investors toward the U.S. dollar.
- West Texas Intermediate crude surged more than 15 percent in just a few days, moving from around $67 to roughly $77 per barrel.
- Israel uses proportional representation to elect 120 members to the Knesset, although no single party since the nation was founded in 1948 has won a 61-seat majority.
- Netanyahu, first elected in 1996 and prime minister for 20 of the last 30 years, faces his toughest election yet.
- If Democrats picked up the four seats for a 51-seat majority, that could potentially put Fetterman in an influential position, reducing the incentive to switch parties.
- The media and the Senate just questioned her qualifications.
- With Man United sitting 16th in the Premier League table and already a whopping 14 points behind both Manchester City and Arsenal at the summit, it had been widely expected that Carrick would be relieved of his duties in the coming days.
- It will be difficult to block the agreement as overriding a potential presidential veto requires a two-thirds majority.
- Tyson Fury has sensationally claimed that his long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua is off, just days after promoter Eddie Hearn said they were "running out of time" with negotiations.
- The push includes cutting off spending to a group of less attainable House races, piling in money to shore up others and training its focus on key Senate seats to salvage Republicans’ Senate majority.
- Ohio, Alaska and Iowa are the Senate races that Trump officials view as increasingly critical to keep their majority in the chamber, according to three GOP officials familiar with MAGA Inc.’s strategy, granted anonymity to candidly assess the midterms.