Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is planning to keep the chamber in session for a significant portion of October if not four entire weeks, costing Democrats key campaign trail days and allowing the chamber to continue its work into the fall, Politico reports.
“he GOP leader wants to keep cranking through as many lifetime judicial nominations and executive nominations as he can with his majority in the balance and the GOP still with the unilateral ability to confirm President Trump’s picks.
Moreover, the Senate GOP only has two members who are considered vulnerable in the election: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Nevada Sen. Dean Heller. Democrats, meanwhile, are defending 10 total seats in states that Trump won in 2016, with at least four of them considered extremely competitive.
McConnell said today that the November midterm elections will be “very challenging” for Republicans, saying that the GOP is facing a “storm” as it tries to hold on to the Senate.
“You can’t repeal history, and almost every election two years into any new administration the party of the presidency loses seats. They don’t always lose the body, but almost always loses seats. And so we know that this is going to be a very challenging election on the Senate side.”
Republicans started the cycle facing a favorable map that could potentially allow them to increase their narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate. Democrats are playing defense to keep 10 seats in states President Trump won in the 2016 election.
But with eight weeks to go until the November elections, Democrats have a narrow path to retaking the Senate if the party can sweep every race considered a toss-up.