Dems 'going on offense' against 'vulnerable' Republicans in FL and TX to save Senate majority

26 September 2024

Democratic strategists and organizers are hoping that if presidential nominee Kamala Harris defeats her GOP rival Donald Trump in November, she will be blessed with Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress — which would mean flipping the U.S. House of Representatives while holding their narrow majority in the U.S. Senate.

If Harris wins, she would have a much easier time getting cabinet and judicial nominees confirmed with the Senate under Democratic control.

But Republicans need only a net gain of two seats in order to flip the Senate, which will happen if Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) is voted out of office and Republicans, as expected, win the seat that Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (who isn't seeking reelection) presently holds via West Virginia.

According to Bloomberg News' Steven T. Dennis, Democratic strategists are well-aware of what they're up against in Montana and West Virginia — and are hoping to save their Senate majority "by spending millions to defeat Ted Cruz in Texas and Rick Scott in Florida, where polls have shown the incumbents surprisingly vulnerable."

On Thursday, September 26, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chairman Gary Peters declared that "Senate Democrats are expanding the map and going on offense."

Dennis, in an article published by Bloomberg News that day, explains, "In Texas, Representative Colin Allred, a former NFL linebacker, has turned the race into a nailbiter, raising tens of millions from Democrats eager to defeat the polarizing Cruz. And in Florida, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has been running close to Scott."

The Bloomberg reporter adds, "The pivot comes as Democrats need to score an upset to retain control of the Senate, given the precarious position of Montana Senator Jon Tester, who is trailing Tim Sheehy in polls. Democrats are also all but certain to lose a seat in West Virginia and are on defense in most of the other battleground states."

In the past, Democrats typically lost statewide races in Texas by double digits. But in the 2018 midterms, Cruz defeated Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke by only two percentage points. And a Morning Consult poll released on September 21 showed Allred leading Cruz by 1 percent, although an Emerson College/The Hill poll released a few days later showed Cruz ahead by 4 percent.

Dennis says of Florida, "Scott, a two-term governor, former health care CEO and longtime ally of Donald Trump, won his seat by a razor-thin margin in 2018 after spending tens of millions of his own fortune. Scott has to contend with ballot initiatives on abortion rights and marijuana legalization, which Democrats think could help Mucarsel-Powell turn out supporters.

Read Bloomberg News' full report at this link (subscription required).

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