These Senate Races Could Change Everything

The presidential election isn’t the only one we’re keeping tabs on tonight. There’s a good chance — three in four, according to FiveThirtyEight — that Democrats will flip the U.S. Senate blue in 2020, which is a big deal. If the Senate stays Republican-controlled, it’s quite possible that much of a potential President Joe Biden’s agenda would be dead on arrival. But if it flips blue, even though it would be a close majority, it could help a Democratic president’s agenda, unclog the backup of unpassed laws in Congress (thanks, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell), and prevent more extremist judges from being confirmed.

There are several key races in the Senate that will be decided in this election. Ahead are the battleground states we’re watching the most closely.

Arizona

Mark Kelly (D), an astronaut and U.S. Navy captain-turned-gun reform activist, is running against Trump loyalist Sen. Martha McSally (R), who was appointed to Sen. John McCain’s seat after he passed away. Kelly is the husband of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011; together, they went on to found Giffords, an organization dedicated to ending gun violence.Photo: Rob Schumacher/Pool/Getty Images.

Colorado

Former governor John Hickenlooper (D) is challenging Sen. Cory Gardner (R), a Trump yes-man, in the purple-blue state’s U.S. Senate election. Hickenlooper has been leading in the polls.Photo: Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty Images.

North Carolina

Cal Cunningham (D) is leading in the polls despite a sexting scandal, challenging Sen. Thom Tillis (R) in this quintessential battleground state. Tillis has been attacking Cunningham’s “personal behavior” on campaign stops, but it hasn’t seemed to matter — in fact, more people started donating to Cunningham when Tillis went after him.Photo: Gerry Broome/AP/Shutterstock.

Maine

Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon (D) is challenging longtime Sen. Susan Collins (R) in this all-important race. Collins, who had previously historically labeled herself a “moderate,” turned a new leaf during the Trump administration, voting to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and to acquit President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial. Collins was, however, the only Republican to vote against Justice Amy Coney Barrett, though many assume it was because she’s trailing in the polls against Gideon.Photo: Robert F Bukaty/AP/Shutterstock.

Iowa

Theresa Greenfield (D) is challenging ultra-conservative Sen. Joni Ernst (R). Greenfield could be headed to Congress, since Ernst is slipping in the polls thanks to the state’s growing number of anti-Trump voters.Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call.

Georgia

Georgia has two contested races. In one, Jon Ossoff (D), who in 2017 ran in a special election for a House seat in the Atlanta suburbs and lost, is challenging Sen. David Perdue (R). The election is so close that it could go to a runoff. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

Georgia: Special Election

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R), a millionaire Republican donor who may have profited from the coronavirus, was appointed to the U.S. Senate in December 2019 after the seat was vacated. Now she is being challenged by Congressman Doug Collins (R), Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock (D), and several other candidates. Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is a progressive favorite. “This is a ‘new South’,” Warnock told reporters. “It’s more diverse. It’s forward-looking. It’s inclusive. And it’s ready to flip blue.”Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images.

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