[ad_1]
WASHINGTON: Democrats are favored to emerge from 14 hotly contested US Senate races with full control of Congress in Tuesday’s (November 3) election, but the final results of at least five of those races may not available for days and in some cases months. .
As public disapproval of President Donald Trump weighs on Republicans across the country, voters will decide whether to end the political careers of warring Republican senators, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and moderate Susan Collins of Maine, among others.
In total, 12 Republican-held and two Democrat-held seats are at stake, according to a Reuters analysis of three nonpartisan US election forecasters: the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Cook’s Political Report and Inside. Elections.
“There are dogfights all over the country,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in Congress, said at a campaign stop. He described the possibility of Republicans holding onto the Senate majority as a “50-50 proposal.”
READ: US Election Day Begins When Voters Decide on Trump’s Fate
Those odds seem optimistic, according to all three forecasters.
They predicted that Democrats could emerge with up to 55 of the 100 Senate seats, giving them a majority for the first time in a decade in both the Senate and the 435-seat House of Representatives, where they are expected to retain control.
Democrats hope to usher in a new political era in Washington if their presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, also wins.
Although it is likely not to reach a 60-vote obstruction-proof majority, control of the Democratic Senate would greatly aid Biden’s legislative agenda or help hamper a second Trump term.
Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, Sara Gideon, speaks with colporteurs in Bangor, Maine, on November 3, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Elizabeth Frantz).
Authorities and party officials in several states, including two where close races are being fought in the Senate, Iowa and Michigan, reported an increase in automated phone calls Tuesday warning voters not to go to the polls for a variety of reasons. bogus reasons.
“Receive reports of multiple robocalls directed at Flint residents who, due to the long lines, should vote tomorrow,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on Twitter.
“Obviously this is FALSE and an effort to suppress the vote.”
A Justice Department official said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was receiving complaints about the calls in Iowa, where Sen. Joni Ernst is fighting to keep her job in front of Democrat Theresa Greenfield.
“We are aware of the robocall reports and have no further comment,” the FBI said in a statement.
READ: On US Election Day, Trump Says He Feels ‘Very Good’ About Opportunities
To win a majority in the Senate, Democrats must win just three Republican seats if Biden is elected president and Senator Kamala Harris casts the tiebreaker vote as vice president. Republicans now have a majority of 53 to 47 seats.
Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado is seen as the most vulnerable of more than half a dozen first-term rulers in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Montana and North Carolina. Democrats Doug Jones and Gary Peters are also on the defensive in Alabama and Michigan, respectively.
EXPECTED DELAYS IN RESULTS
The results of some races may not be known until after Election Day, due to the unprecedented volume of ballots sent by mail this year and possible runoff elections in four races.
Delayed results could occur in Arizona and Maine, where Democrats are heavily favored to swap Republican seats. With races getting tighter in North Carolina and Iowa, analysts say Colorado could be the best chance for Democrats to show a victory on Election Night.
The final results of a four-way contest in Maine between Collins, Democrat Sara Gideon and two independent candidates could be delayed for some time if no one wins an absolute majority on Tuesday, Collins said while the vote was underway.
“If neither of us gets 50 percent of the vote, then we get into the rather strange ranked election voting … We probably won’t know for sure who won for another week,” Collins said Tuesday morning on the show. radio station Hugh Hewitt. .
READ: ‘And the winner is?’ – The risk of a contested vote has US allies on edge.
Under Maine’s “ranked choice” voting system, voters can rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate obtains a majority, the lowest-ranking candidate is eliminated and their support is redirected according to the second preferences of the voters.
Two elections for a pair of Senate seats in Georgia could face a similar fate, except that the second round elections would be delayed until January 5.
In Arizona, Democrat Mark Kelly may be poised to oust Republican Sen. Martha McSally. But county officials have up to 20 days to review the election results. McSally’s failed 2018 election contest against Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema took six days to produce a winner.
In Michigan, where Peters could be vulnerable to an annoyance from Republican John James, state election officials are warning that final results might not be available until Friday.
The outcome of the close races in Montana and South Carolina may not be known until Wednesday, according to state and Democratic Party election officials.
READ: Polls are optimistic about Joe Biden’s win, but are they accurate?
In the race for the United States Senate in Montana, Republican incumbent Steve Daines is side by side with Governor Steve Bullock. In South Carolina, Graham, a three-term Republican, faces an unprecedented challenge from Democrat Jaime Harrison.
If Democrats emerge from the election with control of the Senate, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has vowed to let nothing stand in their way. “There is nothing off the table,” he said.
