Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is reportedly placing partial blame for his party's failure to regain the upper chamber on failed Democratic candidate Cal Cunningham who allegedly "couldn't keep his zipper up."
Axios reported Tuesday that Schumer "has made the zipper comment on numerous calls" to donors in blaming Cunningham's personal drama for his narrow loss in North Carolina to incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R), after Cunningham admitted to exchanging sexually charged texts with a woman who is not his wife.
Cunningham, a married father of two, was also hit with allegations of engaging in separate physical affairs with the alleged mistress and another unnamed woman. Prior to the scandal, Cunningham was leading in the polls and expected to win.
Schumer reportedly said he now regrets recruiting Cunningham for the race.
Schumer also pointed to the passing of late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as playing a factor in why Democrats were unable to flip the Senate, speculating that Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was able to keep hold of her seat by appealing to Democrats, independents and undecideds in opposing the nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett so close to the presidential election.
Every major poll leading up to Election Day had predicted that Collins would lose to Democratic challenger Sara Gideon.
Republicans currently hold the Senate 50-48, so it is no longer possible for Democrats to take the majority outright. But if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden takes office — as the mainstream media has widely projected — there is still a path for Democrats to control the upper chamber.
The final two Senate races will take place in Georgia run-offs to be held next month, as sitting Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue square off against Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff respectively. If Warnock and Ossoff both win, the Senate would be split 50-50.
If President Donald Trump is successful in his challenge to the presidential election results, Vice President Mike Pence would then be the tie-breaker.
If Biden is inaugurated and the Senate is split 50-50, a Vice President Kamala Harris would be the tie-breaker, meaning Democrats would then control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Democrat Cal Cunningham has conceded in his race to unseat Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina, placing the GOP one step closer to maintaining control of the upper chamber.
Cunningham, 47, released a statement Tuesday saying that he had called Tillis "to congratulate him on winning re-election to a second term in the U.S. Senate and wished him and his family the best in their continued service in the months and years ahead."
"The voters have spoken and I respect their decision," he continued. "While the results of this election suggest there remain deep political divisions in our state and nation, the more complete story of our country lies in what unites us: our faith and sense of confidence in our democracy, our civic values and common humanity, our shared aspiration to care for one another, and our belief that we live in a country that does exceptional things."
My statement on the results of this race: https://t.co/dWo5gipxw8— Cal Cunningham (@Cal Cunningham)1605039483.0
Tillis, 60, issued a statement acknowledging Cunningham's call, saying, "This was a hard-fought campaign and I wish nothing but the best to Cal and his family going forward."
Earlier this afternoon, Cal Cunningham called me to offer his concession. This was a hard-fought campaign and I wis… https://t.co/CKNqkPBscX— Thom Tillis (@Thom Tillis)1605040003.0
Polls showed Tillis trailing behind Cunningham leading up to the election, but the race tightened in October after Cunningham admitted to exchanging sexually charged texts with a woman who is not his wife. The married father of two children was also hit with allegations of engaging in separate physical affairs with the alleged mistress and another unnamed woman.
Fox News reported that, according to elections policy analyst Andy Jackson of the conservative Civitas Institute, Tillis "had the odds stacked against him," noting that "North Carolina voters are 'brutal' to their incumbent senators, rejecting nearly all modern senators after just one term."
The Associated Press reported that Tillis led Cunningham by more than 95,000 votes in the race, and with it decided, "all eyes turned to Georgia, where two U.S. Senate runoff races in January are likely to determine the balance of the upper chamber."
The outlet pointed out:
With votes still uncounted and the races in North Carolina and Alaska still too early to call Tuesday, the Senate remained tied 48-48. Alaska GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is favored for another term against Al Gross, an independent running as a Democrat. If the Senate ended up tied 50-50, Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would wield the tiebreaking vote.
Now that Tillis has kept his seat, Republicans now hold 49 seats in the Senate to the Democrats' 48.
Also, North Carolina's presidential race and several other statewide races have not been called. President Trump leads former Vice President Joe Biden by more than 73,000 votes.
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