Iran Press/ America: In recent weeks, GOP senators have been forced into a difficult political dance as polling shifts in favor of Democrats: touting their own response to the Coronavirus outbreak without overtly distancing themselves from a president whose management of the crisis is under intense scrutiny but who still holds significant sway with Republican voters; the Washington Post reported.
The Post writes that Republicans have privately become alarmed at the situation in key races where they are counting on GOP incumbents. Some Republican strategists who are closely involved in Senate races warned that there is a bleak picture right now all across the map and this whole conversation is a referendum on Trump, and that is a bad place for Republicans to be. But it’s also not a forever place.
Some believe GOP candidates will recover once the nation, and the 2020 presidential campaign, returns to a more normal footing, casting the November elections as a contest between Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden; however, a return to normalcy ahead of the elections is far from a given as the death toll continues to rise and economic data paints a grim picture, meaning the president’s handling of the pandemic could be the determining factor not only for his reelection but for Republicans’ ability to hold on to the Senate. In short, as goes Trump, so probably goes the Senate majority.
Potentially, competitive races looming in the second tier of Senate campaigns, where Republicans are also on the defensive, could pose an even bigger problem for the GOP if the party is forced to spread resources throughout the country in a difficult political environment.
Democrats also plan to attack GOP senators for their opposition to the increasingly popular Affordable Care Act, with 2020 marking the first Senate elections where Democrats can target a large swath of Republicans for votes early in the Trump presidency to repeal the health law.
Republicans also believe the sinking economy — which on Friday reported a 14.7 percent jobless rate for April, will help determine the fate of incumbent GOP senators come November. Several Senate Republicans have already stressed the need to carefully reopen businesses and other economic activity, warning of the long-term impact to the country if the lockdown continues indefinitely.
Republicans currently hold a 53-to-47 advantage in the Senate. 212/ 104
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