Democrats lead in all seven Senate races seen as decisive for control of the chamber, according to the final New York Times/Siena University polls of the campaign. The surveys, released Sunday, November 1, covered likely voters in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas between October 23 and November 1.
The widest margins came in Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed leads Republican Mike Rogers 53 percent to 42 percent, and in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico leads Republican Ken Paxton 50 percent to 43 percent. Those two leads fall outside the polls’ margins of error, while the other five races sit inside them.
In Maine, the Democratic challenger leads Republican Senator Susan Collins 51 percent to 45 percent. In Kansas, the Democratic challenger leads Republican Senator Roger Marshall 49 percent to 44 percent. In Ohio, former Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, leads Republican Jon Husted 49 percent to 44 percent in the special election for the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.
Alaska and Iowa look tighter. In Alaska, former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat, leads Republican Senator Dan Sullivan 48 percent to 46 percent. In Iowa, Democrat Josh Turek leads Republican Representative Ashley Hinson 48 percent to 47 percent.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take the Senate majority, and they must hold every seat they already control. Siena Research Institute director Don Levy said a Democratic majority is a distinct possibility, while adding that a majority for either party remains possible given how many races fall within the margin of error.
Across the seven states, 38 percent of likely voters approved of President Donald Trump’s job performance, according to the polls. Democrats also led Republicans by nine percentage points on which party would better handle the cost of living. Voters go to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, with 35 Senate seats on the ballot.
Source: The New York Times
