Democrats Claw Their Way Back in Key Senate Races

Democrats got some good news in key Senate races just a little under three weeks from 2018’s crucial midterm elections.

In West Virginia, incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin is up six over Patrick Morrisey in a Vox Populi poll, 53 to 47 percent. Two weeks ago, polls showed Manchin with just a four to one point lead. This is also the first poll this month to put Manchin over the all-important 50 percent line — a vital benchmark for an incumbent.

This is only one poll, but it looks as though Manchin’s vote in favor of confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and his support for funding President Trump’s border wall gave him some breathing room.

In Indiana, incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly is up four points over Republican Mike Braun in the latest from Gravis. This is Donnelly’s best showing going back to August — but only by a single point. Keeping Donnelly alive in this red state is his open support of Trump, including funding for the southern border wall. The only problem for Donnelly is that, as an incumbent, he has yet to poll above 44 percent.

In Tennessee, after a terrible series of polls, including one showing him down a whopping 14 points, Democrat Phil Bredesen is actually up one over Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn in a Vanderbilt University poll — 43 to 44 percent.

As his poll numbers cratered, the 75-year-old Bredesen said he would have voted for the Kavanaugh confirmation. This is a race to replace retiring Republican Bob Corker, so a Bredesen win would be a Democrat pickup.

Democrats also got some good news in Nevada. A Vox Populi poll has Democrat Jacky Rosen up two over Incumbent Republican Dean Heller, who had been holding on with small but persistent leads, including an outlier poll that had him up seven.

 

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