National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Cory Gardner offered his own guidance about how the midterm elections will go the GOP will grow its majority by 5 in the Senate, The Hill reports.
"He said if the election were held tomorrow, we'd pick up five seats," a Republican senator who heard Gardner's comments told The Hill.
The source of optimism for Gardner, R-Colo., is recent polling that shows major headwinds for Democratic Senate incumbents in five states won by President Donald Trump in 2016:
- Jon Tester in Montana.
- Joe Manchin in West Virginia.
- Joe Donnelly in Indiana.
- Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota.
- Claire McCaskill in Missouri.
Further, those are just five of the 26 Senate seats Democrats are defending in November compared to just nine seats for Republicans.
The prevailing wisdom among Republicans is that their majority in the Senate is far safer than that in the House.
"The map, no matter what happens, still leans in our direction, so I think they have a better than even chance to actually pick up a seat or two," Rep. Tom Cole, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, told the Hill.
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