Foreign Agents Are Spending Big To Help Dems Win These Key Senate Seats
Gallego has long railed against the influence of lobbyists
Kyrsten Sinema announces she'll depart Senate at end of year
Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has announced that she will depart from the Senate at the end of the year.
"The only political victories that matter these days are symbolic. Attacking your opponents on cable news or social media. Compromise is a dirty word," Sinema said in a video. She said that her approach is "not what America wants right now."
"Because I choose civility, understanding, listening, working together," Sinema said, "I will leave the Senate at the end of this year."
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Sinema has served in the Senate since 2019. She won election in 2018 as a Democrat but switched to independent in 2022.
"In a natural extension of my service since I was first elected to Congress, I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington and formally registering as an Arizona Independent," Sinema tweeted in 2022.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Kari Lake for the Senate seat last year, well ahead of the Republican primary for the Senate seat which will take place later this year.
"As a Journalist, I covered Kyrsten Sinema for many years. We may not agree on everything, but I know she shares my love for Arizona," Lake said in a tweet on Tuesday. "Senator Sinema had the courage to stand tall against the Far-Left in defense of the filibuster—despite the overwhelming pressure from the radicals in her party like Ruben Gallego who called on her to burn it all down."
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Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona is also aiming to win the Senate seat.
"I want to thank @SenatorSinema for her nearly two decades of service to our state," Gallego said in a tweet. "It's time Democrats, Independents, and Republicans come together and reject Kari Lake and her dangerous positions."
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Senate majority hangs in the balance in these yet-to-be determined races
A handful of too-close-to-call races in battleground states are expected to tip the balance in the fight for control of the United States Senate. At least for now, it appears that Republicans are on track to hold their majority.
The key races
Michigan: Republican John James is running ahead of the Democratic incumbent Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.) 49.3% to 48.8% with 92% of the votes reported, according to the Associated Press.
Should James, an Iraq War veteran, win in the Rust Belt state it would be a major pickup for the Republicans, who don't normally play offense there despite President Trump's victory in the state in 2016. James trailed Peters in the polls by 5.4% coming into the election, but that deficit appears to have evaporated.
With roughly 10% of the vote still left to be counted, the race has not been called. It's possible that outstanding votes are primarily made up of absentee ballots which have tended to favor Democrats, so the race could still turn in Peters' favor.
North Carolina: Despite doubt that he could retain his seat, Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) is currently leading Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham 48.7% to 46.9% with 93% of the vote reported. A Tillis win would be another sign of relief here as the race was considered a toss-up coming into Election Day.
Georgia: Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) is hanging onto a narrow 50.8% to 46.9% lead against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff with 91% of the vote reported. But Ossoff, who worked as an investigative journalist before running for office, is still holding out hope. Should neither candidate garner 50% of the vote, the race would go to a run-off.
That's not the only Senate race happening in the Peach State. Republican Rep. Doug Collins conceded to Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the state's special election to fill former Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson's seat after the candidate resigned last year. Now that race will head to a run-off where Loeffler will face Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock, where Loeffler is expected to win, but it's not guaranteed.
Maine and Alaska: The two other Senate races that have not yet been called are in Maine and Alaska.
In Maine, Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins is leading Democratic challenger Sara Gideon 50.8% to 42.6% with 85% of the vote reported, and in Alaska, Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan is beating Democratic challenger Al Gross by a margin of 63.1% to 31.8% with 45% reported.
While Alaska's race is nearly a sure victory for Republicans, Collins' chances in Maine were much more in doubt. The incumbent trailed by a sizable margin in the polls ahead of Election Day. If Collins holds Maine, it would be another surprise victory for Republicans.
What it means
If all of the races outline above remained the way they are and the GOP won in each, it would be a stunning victory for Republicans. It would mean they retained their 53-47 majority in the Senate, which is the way things stood coming into the election.
Even if Democrats were to turn the tables and snatch victory in two of the races, it would still result in a 51-49 majority for Republicans in the Senate. If three of the six go to Democrats, that's where it gets tricky because the vice president breaks ties in the chamber and that gives a de facto majority to the party who controls the Executive Branch.
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