Senate Democrats see potential for big wave in November

[Geee]

The Hill:

Democrats feel better than ever about winning back the Senate majority.

 

Democratic leadership aides say a nine-seat pickup is not out of the question and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has recruited aggressively in second- and third-tier races to take advantage of a possible tsunami.

 

“You don’t know how big your wave is going to be but you got to have your surfers in place,” said DSCC spokesman Sam Lau.

Handicappers caution it’s an unpredictable cycle, and Republicans pointing to Hillary Clinton’s approval numbers say she hardly looks like a presidential candidate who will build a huge wave for her party.

At the same time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) this week offered a significant note of caution in comparing presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to 1964 GOP presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, who won only six states.

McConnell warned in a CNN interview that Trump could turn Latinos away from the GOP in the same way that Goldwater turned of African-American voters 50 years ago.

[Geee]

Ten Senate seats most likely to flip

 

Republicans face an uphill road to keeping their Senate majority in the November election.

They must fight to protect 24 GOP-held seats while the Democrats have to worry

Here are the top 10 seats likely to flip, nine of which are held by Republicans.

1. Illinois

 

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is running in a state that President Obama won by 17 and 25 percentage points in 2012 and 2008, respectively. The political makeup of the state makes him the most vulnerable incumbent, according to strategists in both parties.

 

Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, grew up in Illinois and won the state Democratic primary with more than 50 percent of the vote.

 

While GOP-allied outside groups are spending heavily in various Senate battleground states, they’re not doing so in Illinois, a troubling sign for Kirk.

 

His opponent, Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), was the Democrats’ top recruit although she has run into some turbulence of her own.

 

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/282278-ten-senate-seats-most-likely-to-flip