Democrats on the defense to keep Senate majority, political analyst explains

WASHINGTON (TND) — As the country closely watches the presidential match between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, a battle for control of the Senate is also unfolding.

In this arena — Democrats are playing heavy defense.

“Democrats essentially have to pitch a perfect game," Jessica Taylor, a political analyst for the Cook Report said.

Democrats currently have a 51-49 seat majority in the Senate.

They’re almost guaranteed to lose Senator Joe Manchin’s seat in deep-red West Virginia. Then it only takes flipping one more seat from blue to red for the GOP to take control outright.

And there are plenty of races Democrats are worried about.

"Democrats have an entirely defensive map that they’re dealing with. They’re defending 23 seats compared to just 11 for Republicans," Taylor explained.

The Republican senators up for re-election this cycle are in securely red states. Several Democratic incumbents however are in highly competitive races.

Senator Jon Tester, D-Mont., a longtime Democrat representing Montana, is perhaps the most vulnerable.

"John Tester is sitting in a seat in a state that Donald Trump carried four years ago by 16 points," Taylor said.

Tester’s opponent is a popular Navy Seal Veteran Tim Sheehy.

“Whether in war or business, I see problems and solve them," Sheehy said.

Democrats are also facing highly competitive Senate races in Ohio, Michigan and Nevada.

Control of the Senate could hinge on who wins the White House.

“When we look at senate races that happen in presidential years is that the results overwhelmingly correlate with the presidential results in the state," Taylor explained.

In 2016 every Senate race went the same as the presidential race for that state. It was the same in 2020 except for Maine, where the state went for Biden and Republican Senator Susan Collins held on to her seat.