The fight for Senate control is still taking shape and, less than 16 months before Election Day, two states appear to moving in the Democrats’ direction on the battlefield.
Donald Trump came within about a point and a half of winning Minnesota in the 2016 presidential election. But that might be the new high-water mark for Republicans, and the GOP will have a hard time unseating Democratic Sen. Tina Smith in 2020.
Democrats have a 52-43 percent advantage statewide, according to the Inside Elections Baseline, which includes all statewide and House results over the most recent four election cycles. Republicans took a half-hearted shot at Smith last cycle, when she was on the ballot for the first time as a senator, but state Sen. Karin Housley lost by more than 10 points.
View the complete July 9 article by Nathan L. Gonzales on The Roll Call website here.