Republicans' Easiest Path to Retaking the Senate

Voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the crunch midterm elections, with control over the Senate and the House of Representatives up for grabs.

Currently 50 Senators caucus with each of the main parties, with the Democrats having a wafer-thin majority, thanks to the vice president's tie-busting vote.

According to election analysis site FiveThirtyEight, the Republicans are strong favorites to win control of the currently Democrat controlled House.

The GOP has an 85 percent chance of winning a House majority, according to FiveThirtyEight, versus 15 percent for the Democrats.

However, the site found the Senate battle is much closer, with a 55 percent chance of Republican majority versus 45 percent for the Democrats.

Polling experts RealClearPolitics calculated that the Republicans are likely to win 48 seats, with 42 of these either "safe" or not up for election.

The corresponding figure for the Democrats is 45 seats, with seven Senate races listed as "toss ups."

If this plays out on election day, the GOP will need to win three of the "toss up" seats, to get 51 Senators, giving them a majority of one.

According to RealClearPolitics analytics the three "toss up" states the Republicans stand the best chance of winning are Wisconsin, Nevada and Georgia.

In Wisconsin, the RealClearPolitics polling average puts Republican Jon Johnson ahead, with 49.4 percent versus 46.2 percent for Democrat Mandela Barnes.

For Nevada, where the GOP is hoping to unseat Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Republican candidate Adam Laxalt currently has a 1.9 percent lead.

Republicans are also narrowly favored to win the fiercely contested Georgia contest, according to the RealClearPolitics poll of polls.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden gave a speech at Union Station in Washington, D.C., where he claimed "democracy is on the ballot" at the upcoming elections.

Referencing the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress he added: "I wish I could say the assault on democracy ended that day. I cannot."

Texas Republican Representative Ronny Jackson hit back on Twitter, branding Biden's remarks "the most DIVISIVE speech in American history."

Speaking to Newsweek, Michael Sozan, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, warned many "election deniers" are running for office.

He said: "Americans who value democracy must elect candidates who will defend democracy instead of candidates who spread the dangerous myth of widespread voter fraud and try to sabotage valid election results."

On Thursday, former president Donald Trump told a rally in Iowa he is "very, very, very" likely to run again for the presidency in 2024.

Speaking at the same rally, House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene said "under Republicans not another penny will go to Ukraine," sparking backlash online.

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