{"id":99,"date":"2020-03-31T20:15:55","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T20:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/politicalbluegene.com\/?p=99"},"modified":"2020-05-15T14:31:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T14:31:57","slug":"first-look-at-u-s-senate-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/politicalbluegene.com\/?p=99","title":{"rendered":"FIRST LOOK AT U.S. SENATE RACES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MARCH 31, 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRST LOOK AT U.S. SENATE RACES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two PACS associated with the Democratic and Republican U.S. Senate campaign committees have just set initial budgets for their first ads ahead of the November elections and they give a good indication of where the battles are likely to be fought, especially since both organizations have purchased ad time for the same five races and the Republicans added one more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the five common ad purchases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arizona:           Republican Martha McSally, who was appointed to replace John McCain, vs. Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords.  There have been a few polls here and the latest have Kelly with a 6-7 point lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado:         Republican Cory Gardner vs. former\nGovernor John Hickenlooper.  From the\nmoment Hickenlooper got out of the presidential race, Democrats have been very\noptimistic about this one, but I have not seen any recent polling here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iowa:              Republican Joni Ernst is not very\npopular, but the Democrats won’t choose their candidate until June 2.  Her approval ratings have dropped to 47% but\nthe race may depend on the identity of the as yet unknown Democratic candidate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maine:             Republican Susan Collins will be facing\nState House Speaker Sarah Gideon.  A\nrecent poll (March 5) has Gideon with a 4 point lead over Collins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina: Republican Thom Tillis vs. former State Senator Cal Cunningham.  Two latest polls  (late February) were split, with each candidate having a slight lead<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republican Pac has also bought air time in Kentucky,\nwhere Mitch McConnell will face former Marine combat pilot Amy McGrath.  I have already seen a national ad two times\non MSNBC for McGrath.  The two most\nrecent polls were conducted in January, with one having a tie and the other\nshowing McConnell up by 3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two other races to note: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabama:         Republicans are having their run-off\nelection in July, and whether Tommy Tuberville or Jeff Sessions wins, it is\nhard to imagine Democrat Doug Jones holding onto this seat. (Tuberville,\nendorsed by Trump, is the favorite.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montana:         Former Governor and presidential\ncandidate Steve Bullock recently entered this race, giving Democrats a chance\nvs. Republican incumbent Steve Daines. \nThe only poll showed a dead heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other races to watch as the year progresses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Texas (Incumbent Republican John Cornyn)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia special election (Incumbent Republican Kelly\nLoeffler)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kansas (open seat).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MARCH 31, 2020 FIRST LOOK AT U.S. SENATE RACES Two PACS associated with the Democratic and Republican U.S. Senate campaign committees have just set initial budgets for their first ads ahead of the November elections and they give a good (…)<\/p>\n

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