Several Senate races are still close to call. Of those that have been, it was a mix of shocking results and predictable outcomes.
Summary
Sunday, we offered a snapshot of the hot Senate races. Here’s where they stand the day after the election.
- Arizona – Challenger Mark Kelly defeated incumbent Senator Martha McSally in what has been a traditionally red state. Kelly secured 52.63 percent of the vote, anchored by the urban centers of Phoenix and Tucson. CNN has not yet calledthe race for Kelly.
- Colorado – Following Arizona, Colorado also ousted its incumbent. Freshman Senator Corey Gardner lost to former Governor John Hickenlooper 53.9% to 44%. This follows a left-moving trend for Colorado. Trump also lost the state.
- Iowa – Senator Joni Ernst held on to her seat in Iowa, defeating Democrat opponent Theresa Greenfield by 6.6%. This race ended up not being as close as polling suggested.
- Michigan – This race is too close to call. RealClearPolitics’ polling average had incumbent Democrat Gary Peters up by more than 5%. Republican challenger John James currently holds a slim lead of 35,000 votes as of Wednesday morning.
- North Carolina – This race has not been called. Republican incumbent Thom Tillis is leading by just under 100,000 voteswith about 94% of votes counted. Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham faced a barrage of criticism after an extramarital affair was unearthed in the final weeks of the campaign. Cunningham led all polling in the final week.
- South Carolina – Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison was expected to mount a serious challenge to incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican. Harrison raised roughly $100 million in his bid, a record. Ultimately, Harrison fell far short, with Graham winning by nearly 14%.
- Georgia (Full Term) – With 91% counted, Republican incumbent David Perdue holds a 4 point lead over Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. Most services have not called the race yet. Polling was tight in the final weeks, with the candidates trading low-single-digit advantages. If Perdue holds 50%, there will be no run-off.
- Georgia (Special Election) – In a large field, Democrat challenger Raphael Warnock took nearly 32% of the vote with incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in second with 26.5%. Warnock and Loeffler will advance to a run-off election in January.
- Maine – In what many experts consider a surprise, incumbent Republican Susan Collins will likely hang on to her seat. She is currently ahead by about 6 points over Democrat Sara Gideon. The race has not been called, however, as there are still 30% of votes yet to be counted.
- Pundit and author Isaac Bailey lambasted the lopsided victory of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, saying “a majority here just doesn’t care about integrity.”
- Conservative CNN Commentator Sarah Isgur argued that so many Republican senators keeping their seat “almost certainly ends the conversation” on many of the more controversial Democratic policy goals like increasing the size of the Supreme Court.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2020
