Republican gains may have put Senate out of reach for 2020 Democrats
by Philip Klein
| November 07, 2018 08:24 AM
Republicans' strong showing in Senate elections on Tuesday will not only allow President Trump to appoint a flood of conservative judges over the next two years, it will likely put a Senate majority out of reach for Democrats in 2020.
This means that even if a Democratic candidate defeats Trump, it will be impossible to enact a sweeping liberal agenda.
Though all usual caveats apply about how a lot can change in two years, here's the uphill battle facing Democrats.
Right now, Republicans will enter the next Congress with at least 53 seats and probably 54 given that Martha McSally's grip is tightening in Arizona. Though there's still an outside chance Republicans will take Montana, it seems like there are enough outstanding votes in Democratic strongholds to put Sen. Jon Tester over the top.
When looking toward 2020 Senate races, the first step is to immediately deduct an additional seat from Democrats, because they are not going to hold Alabama during a presidential election year with Trump on top of the Republican ticket and when Roy Moore is not the GOP nominee.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/republican-gains-may-have-put-senate-out-of-reach-for-2020-democrats
