Four recent elections show that at this point Democrats can't win. Unless something extremely remarkable and lucky happens soon they might be finished. In the 2018 mid-term elections, 33 seats in the Senate are up for grabs as are all 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives.
Looking specifically at the Senate: Of the 33 seats in contention, 23 are Democrats and two are Independents that caucus with them for a total of 25 seats. The Republicans need only defend eight seats.
For Republicans six of their seats are firmly in control, leaving two in contention. For Democrats, 12 seats are firmly in control, leaving 11 Democrat seats and two Independent seats up for grabs. If current trends continue the Democrats are likely to lose some of them, giving Republicans firmer control in the Senate.
However, in order to make a real difference in the Senate the Republicans need to keep their two and flip eight of the Democrat seats. That would give them 60 seats and a filibuster-proof majority. A nightmare for the Democrats. But can the Republicans do it?
Time will tell but in light of recent events things don't look good for the Democrat Party. It is apparent most Americans aren't fooled. Along with recent results, they proved that in the last round of state elections flipping legislatures and unseating Democrat governors.
In the states, 36 governor seats are up for grabs in 2018. It is interesting that in eight states traditionally controlled by Democrats, Republican governors now lead, including Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Vermont. Republicans gains there are likely while Democrat chances of unseating a Republican is not.
Jeff Cook
Springdale
Commentary on 06/24/2017