Yep, the Democrats really can take the Senate in 2020
While it is very important that we focus our sights on ridding ourselves of “President” Donald Trump, we should not forget about the importance of taking the Senate. According to Chris Cillizza of CNN, 2020 could well be Senate Republicans’ worst nightmare. Twenty-two seats will be up for grabs, and Democrats need only three (if a Democrat wins the presidency) or four to effectively have a majority. Even if, heaven forbid, Trump wins reelection, the Democrats can capture those four seats, and the rest of Trump’s “presidency” will become a living nightmare for him. Thinking about that certainly lessens the blow of a Trump reelection, but Cillizza believes that Democrats can take over the Senate. The motivation behind Cillizza’s thinking involves two candidates for Senate: Roy Moore and Kris Kobach.
Roy Moore is running again in Alabama after his stinging defeat by Doug Jones, a Democrat. Trump won Alabama by 27 points in 2016, so one might think a Republican is a sure thing for Senate. That might be true if that Republican weren’t Moore. Moore lost the earlier race because of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by several women. Moore sued the women, and the case remains in the courts, but the allegations alone severely tarnished his image, causing his loss to a Democrat in a state that’s so red it could rival the Blood Moon. Republicans currently in office don’t want Moore to run because of that turn of events, but Moore isn’t listening to them and is running anyway. Thanks, Moore; we need that seat.
The second Republican who can cause trouble for the Senate is Kris Kobach of Kansas. Kobach is a former state party chair and Secretary of State in Kansas. He also served for a short time on Trump’s election fraud commission before leaving to run for Governor. He barely won his party’s nomination and went on to lose to — you guessed it — a Democrat, this one named Laura Kelly. According to Cillizza, Kobach’s loss is the first time a GOP candidate lost a statewide race in Kansas in ten years. Even though Kansas tends to vote Republican, Cillizza shares that many Republicans worry that Kobach will put that seat in jeopardy. Mitch McConnell’s super PAC is quoted as saying “Kansas Republicans deserve a candidate who can win.” No, they don’t. We need that state to turn blue, so cheers to Kobach’s run.
Speaking of Mitch McConnell, he has now been challenged for his seat by Amy McGrath, a former fighter pilot who barely lost her Congressional bid against an incumbent Republican in 2018. According to AP News, McGrath sees McConnell as vulnerable due to his health care policies, his allegiance to Trump, and overstaying his welcome in Washington. She might well be right, as there seems to be somewhat of a backlash against McConnell, judging by the billboards and the “Ditch Mitch” group that has formed. Honestly, if we can’t ditch Trump, ditching McConnell would be just as sweet – but it is vital that we focus on these Senate races. We must do whatever we can to return this country to normalcy.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years