In this year’s U.S. elections, in addition to electing the next president, there will also be congressional elections, with one-third of the Senate seats up for grabs. It is widely predicted that the Republican Party may become the majority party in the Senate this fall. As the race heats up in key Senate battlegrounds across the country, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee announced on Monday (September 16) that they will invest $25 million to launch ground campaigns in an effort to retain the majority position in the Senate.
In this year’s congressional elections, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be up for grabs, while only 33 out of 100 Senate seats will be contested, with 10 seats held by Republicans, 21 seats by Democrats, and 2 seats held by independents.
Media outlets like The Wall Street Journal and The Hill have analyzed that the Democrats face a challenging Senate battleground this year, with many of the contested seats being in key states won by Trump in 2020. The Republicans only need to win two more seats to regain the majority in the Senate.
According to the Cook Political Report’s polling, four of the Democratic-held seats are rated as “toss-ups” in terms of their likelihood to retain them, while all Republican-held seats are rated as “likely” or “safe” for Republican candidates to win.
Currently, the Democrats and Republicans each hold a slight majority in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Before Kamala Harris takes over, Biden’s prospects were not looking promising, and the Democratic Party cannot afford to lose in the Senate reelection. If the Republicans win 13 Senate seats, they will be able to control the Senate and retain control of the House of Representatives, giving Trump full control of both chambers.
However, with Kamala Harris in the picture, some polls suggest that she is leading Trump in certain areas, leading to a slight improvement in the Democrats’ Senate prospects.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee announced on Monday that they will invest $25 million in funding into challenging Senate battlegrounds. With less than 50 days left until the election, the Democrats will focus on attracting swing voters to secure their majority in the Senate.
This $25 million plan will be distributed across 10 states, including Senate battlegrounds in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Montana, as well as states where Democrats hope to defeat incumbent Republicans, such as Florida and Texas, although the Republicans are expected to defend these seats.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is also directing funds to Maryland to counter former Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s challenge against the Democratic candidate.
“In a fiercely competitive election, a strong ground game can influence the outcome,” said Gary Peters, chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, in a statement. “This investment will strengthen the Democrats’ campaign organization, emphasize the importance of voter turnout, and engage with potential supporters to increase support.”
The committee plans to continue increasing this campaign funding leading up to the elections.
However, some Republicans believe that Kamala Harris’s novelty will not last long, and as voters start paying closer attention to the race, it will gradually fade. Republican Senator John Cornyn stated that he believes the confidence Harris brings to the Democratic Party is a “short-term boomlet.”