Democrats frustrated, GOP jubilant in Senate fight

[mystery-ak]

Democrats frustrated, GOP jubilant in Senate fight
By Alexander Bolton - 11/05/20 06:00 AM EST

Senate Democrats are feeling frustrated and disappointed as their effort to retake the majority appears to have fallen short once again.

The likelihood of being relegated to the minority for the next couple years hit home Wednesday when Democratic challenger Sara Gideon conceded to Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the blue state of Maine.

While it now appears Democratic nominee Joe Biden will probably eke out a victory in the presidential race, Democrats were hoping for a bigger night — especially after failing to flip the Senate in 2016 and 2018.
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John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado and the only Democratic challenger to officially knock off a Senate Republican incumbent on Tuesday, said, “I was hoping that we would sweep to victory with a number of Senate wins.”

“We’re still cautiously optimistic, but it’s not the level of excitement I was hoping to wake up to,” he said.

Other Democratic strategists and aides expressed their dismay.

excerpt:
Senate Republicans control 53 seats and defeated Sen. Doug Jones (D) in Alabama, which means Democrats needed to pick up four Republican-held seats as well as the White House.

As of Wednesday evening, Hickenlooper had won in Colorado and Democrat Mark Kelly had a comfortable lead in Arizona, although Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) has refused to concede the race.

But in a major blow to their hopes, Collins defeated Gideon and Sen. Thom Tillis (R) has a solid lead over Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham in North Carolina. 

Now that Sen. Gary Peters (D) has retained his seat in Michigan, Democrats will control at least 48 Senate seats next year — two short of the 50 they need to control the agenda. This means they have to win a Jan. 5 runoff for Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R-Ga.) seat, and also force Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) into the runoff by keeping him below 50 percent of the vote, and then defeat him in a Jan. 5 runoff as well.

In other words, Senate Democrats’ path to the majority rests on big “ifs.”

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/524561-democrats-frustrated-gop-jubilant-in-senate-fight

[skeeter]

I wouldn't be so sanguine about the senate - really big money is gonna pour in from the usual wealthy suspects for the rat candidates in those two January runoff races. Its gonna take a maximum effort to keep those seats.