While Republicans are favored to regain the Senate majority Tuesday, there is hope for Democrats as there still could be "fairly big swings either way," according to FiveThirtyEight pollster Nate Silver.
"We have the GOP with a 55-45 edge — can call that a dead heat if you want, rather have 55 than 45," Silver, whose polling firm name is derived from the 538 electors in the Electoral College, told ABC's "This Week" about the odds to win the majority.
"But with six or seven races within a couple points, you could have fairly big swings either way."
The House is all but certain to flip to a Republican majority, as Silver used a football analogy to suggest a GOP victory is merely hitting a 42-yard field goal.
"In the House have you a pretty clear front-runner, the GOP, given the history of the opposition party doing well at the midterm, given the polling, the president's approval rating," Silver told the panel. "It's not a guarantee but as though they're kicking a 42-yard field goal and expect it to happen most of the time.
"The Senate is much closer."
The Senate is already a dead heat for the past two years at 50-50, with 50 Republicans against 48 Democrats and two independents that caucus with them.
Despite Silver's vocal optimism for Democrats, his polling website projects the GOP to hold 54 Senate seats to the Democrats' 46 after the midterms.
With the GOP in the majority, the Senate filibuster should remain and require 60 votes to pass most legislation and sign to Democrat President Joe Biden for a signature.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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