Control of the Senate is on the line Tuesday, following a midterm election cycle with races marked by betrayal, alleged ballot shenanigans and President Donald Trump’s incessant swooning over the backside of one Republican candidate.Close races are expected in several traditional battlegrounds — including Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina — but also in states that have become more reliably red since Trump’s rise in politics, such as Ohio and Iowa.There also are closer-than-expected races brewing in even redder states such as Alaska, Kansas and Texas.Underscoring the high stakes: More than $3.4 billion has been spent on television and digital advertisements in Senate races across the country, according to tracking firm AdImpact.
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, meaning Democrats would need a net gain of four seats to regain control.Follow live election coverage here.The consequences for Trump are significant.For the past two years, his own Republican Party has controlled both chambers of Congress, allowing him to pursue his agenda largely unchecked.
But if the Republicans lose the Senate, he’ll need Democratic cooperation to move forward on legislation and appointments.Democrats will have increased power to pursue investigations into the administration.
Alaska has emerged late as a closely watched contest.Democrat Mary Peltola is under scrutiny after a New York Times report that her campaign and other Democrats recruited a candidate into the race — Dan J.
Sullivan — with the same name as Republican Sen.Dan Sullivan.
The “ballot-stacking” tactic is seen as a way to sow confusion among voters in a state that uses ranked choice voting and has four Senate candidates on the ballot.For SubscribersFOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ is deploying a record number of monitors on Election Day FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow to watch election night: Key races, poll closing times, bellwether campaigns and moreFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe Data Dive: Steve Kornacki’...