As the midterm election cycle enters its final two weeks, the political battlefield has changed drastically over the last several months as parties have shifted their strategies in an attempt to gain control of both chambers of Congress for the next two years.
With just 14 days left on the clock, updated polling indicates the Republicans are poised to take control of the House by healthy margins and Democrats have a chance to defend their majority in the Senate, albeit slightly.Here’s what we’re watching as we approach Election Day:Republicans have an 81% chance of winning control of the House, according to election forecaster FiveThirtyEight, bolstering the GOP to gain control of at least one of the two chambers in November.
However, they failed to make much headway, and the party sits at only a 19% chance of winning the House in November, according to FiveThirtyEight.The future of the House could come down to just a handful of races, including several key elections in Iowa and North Carolina. The fate of the House could also come down to a handful of House races along the Texas-Mexico border, such as the race between Rep. Mayra Flores and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in a district that has shifted politically in recent years.The Senate, however, is another story. The battle for the upper chamber has been deemed a toss-up by several election forecasters, with its fate being shifted regularly as Election Day nears.
The battle for Congress has changed drastically over the last several months, as Republicans entered the midterm election cycle poised to win both chambers by large margins. Polling from FiveThirtyEight in June showed Republicans with a 60% chance of winning the Senate, falling to just 20% by late October.There are a total of 35 Senate seats on the ballot this year, 14 Democrats and 21 Republicans. The GOP only needs to win 26 races in order to win the majority.