Control of the Senate is on the line Tuesday, following a midterm election cycle with races marked by betrayal, alleged ballot shenanigans and President Donald Trump’s incessant swooning over the backside of one Republican candidate.
asserted
Control → follow → candidate
Close races are expected in several traditional battlegrounds — including Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina — but also in states that have become more reliably red since Trump’s rise in politics, such as Ohio and Iowa.
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that → expect → Ohio
Underscoring the high stakes: More than $3.4 billion has been spent on television and digital advertisements in Senate races across the country, according to tracking firm AdImpact.
uncertain
billion → underscore → AdImpact
Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber, meaning Democrats would need a net gain of four seats to regain control.
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Democrats → hold → control
For the past two years, his own Republican Party has controlled both chambers of Congress, allowing him to pursue his agenda largely unchecked.
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him → control → agenda
But if the Republicans lose the Senate, he’ll need Democratic cooperation to move forward on legislation and appointments.
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he → lose → legislation
Democrats will have increased power to pursue investigations into the administration.
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Democrats → have → administration
Alaska has emerged late as a closely watched contest.
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Alaska → emerge → contest
Democrat Mary Peltola is under scrutiny after a New York Times report that her campaign and other Democrats recruited a candidate into the race — Dan J. Sullivan — with the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
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campaign → recruit → Sullivan
The “ballot-stacking” tactic is seen as a way to sow confusion among voters in a state that uses ranked choice voting and has four Senate candidates on the ballot.
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that → see → ballot
Peltola and her campaign have repeatedly denied allegations that they recruited the lesser-known Sullivan.
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they → deny → Sullivan
Polls close in Alaska at 1 a.m. ET.
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Polls → close → ET
Clarity about the fight for the Senate will come much earlier in states such as Ohio, where polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET, and Michigan, where the last polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
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polls → come → ET
In Ohio, Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces a tough challenge from Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown in the race to serve the remaining two years on JD Vance’s unexpired Senate term.
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Husted → face → term
Husted was appointed to fill the seat temporarily last year after Vance was elected vice president.
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Vance → appoint → seat
Polls have shown a close race in Ohio, and the president held three rallies in the state in recent weeks — as well as one in the Cincinnati media market, in neighboring Kentucky — in an effort to boost Husted.
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president → show → Husted
Trump used the rallies not only to promote Husted’s work as a senator, but also to compliment his physique.
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Trump → use → physique
Trump, who often gives the impression that he is casting for a movie, repeatedly praised Husted’s “ass” in Ohio and elsewhere down the stretch.
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he → give → stretch
“If Husted wins,” one senior Republican official told NBC News last week, “it’s because Trump literally dragged his ass over the finish line.”
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Trump → win → line
Then there’s the Michigan race, which is ending on an explosive note.
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which → ’ → note
The Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers, scored a surprise last-minute endorsement Sunday from Rep. Haley Stevens, who in August lost the Democratic nomination to challenge him.
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who → score → him
Stevens had vowed as late as Saturday, publicly and privately, to not break her promise to vote for Abdul El-Sayed.
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Stevens → vow → Sayed
The Democrats had long clashed over his criticism of Israel, but Stevens’ criticism had intensified in recent days, prompting the El-Sayed campaign to signal that she was no longer welcome at his events.
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she → clash → events
Stevens cited that in her decision to defect to Rogers, sparking outrage and accusations of betrayal from House Democratic colleagues.
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Stevens → cite → colleagues
Other key races to watch Tuesday include Maine, where polls close at 8 p.m., and where Republican Sen. Susan Collins is up against Democratic former state Senate President Troy Jackson.
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Collins → watch → Jackson
And at 9 p.m. ET, the last polls will close in Texas, which hasn’t had a Democratic senator in 33 years.
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which → close → years
The race took on a heightened energy after the Republican incumbent, Sen. John Cornyn, lost a primary runoff to state Attorney General Ken Paxton after a heavy push by Trump in favor of the latter.
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incumbent → take → latter
Democrats are excited about their candidate, state Rep. James Talarico, who has maintained steady leads in polls, though within the margin of error.
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who → maintain → error
Trump ally and tech billionaire Elon Musk, meanwhile, has spent at least $150 million to back Paxton.
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Musk → spend → Paxton
The Aporia
