Democrats Attempt to Create Path to Senate Majority

Four GOP-held Senate seats are currently being led by Democrats, with at least a four-point margin, according to new polls from Public Policy Polling (PPP).

The polling found Sara Gideon with a four-point lead over incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) at 47-43 in the Maine Senate race and Mark Kelly leading Sen. Martha McSally (R-AR) 47-42 in the Arizona Senate race.

In the poll conducted in Maine, Collins’ approval rating sits at 33 percent, with 57 percent of voters expressing disapproval of her job performance. In the Arizona poll, PPP found McSally to have a 37 percent job approval rating while 46 percent stated they disapprove of her performance in office.

Kelly, who is running to unseat McSally, received a greater favorability rating of 41 percent, while 29 percent have an unfavorable opinion of him.

The poll also found a correlation between President Donald Trump’s approval rating in Arizona and Maine with that of McSally and Collins. The poll noted, “In Maine only 42 percent of voters approve of the job he’s doing to 56 percent who disapprove, and in Arizona only 45 percent of voters approve of the job he’s doing to 51 percent who disapprove.”

In addition to the results found in Maine and Arizona, Public Policy Polling also found Cal Cunningham with a lead over incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) at 46-41 in the North Carolina Senate race and John Hickenlooper with a lead over Cory Gardner (R-CO) at 51-38 in the Colorado Senate race.

Should the Democrats successfully take these four GOP seats currently held by Collins, McSally, Tillis, and Gardner, and lose in Alabama where Sen. Doug Jones’ (D-AL) seat is at stake—assuming nothing else changes – the Vice President next year would cast the tie-breaking vote to decide the majority.

The PPP poll out of Maine was conducted using 872 registered Maine voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percent. The Arizona poll was conducted using 666 registered Maine voters and has a margin of error of +/-3.8 percent.