Senate races to watch
The Senate seats up for grabs on Election Day.
CBS News
Arizona
The race for Arizona’s Senate seat was very close heading into Election Day. According to the latest CBS News poll released last week, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema held a 3-point edge over Republican Rep. Martha McSally, 47 percent to 44 percent. No matter who wins, Arizona will have its first female senator in history.
Florida
Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson is defending his seat against a challenge by sitting governor Rick Scott, the GOP candidate. The Florida Senate race is one of the most important in the country, and a victory for Nelson or Scott could help determine the partisan balance of the Senate. While the candidates have addressed national issues such as health care and immigration, local concerns are also playing an important part in the race, such as post-hurricane recovery and the influx of toxic “red tide” algae into Florida’s waters.
Missouri
The race for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri could not be tighter heading into Tuesday, as Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, tries to keep her Senate seat and beat back her Republican challenger, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley. A September CBS News poll showed McCaskill and Hawley tied, 45 percent to 45 percent, and Real Clear Politics‘ most recent aggregation of other polls has them tied 46 percent to 46 percent.
Texas
Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in an unexpectedly close Senate race, which has the potential to elect a Democrat in a statewide office for the first time since 1994. Although Cruz leads O’Rourke in the polls, the fact that the race is so close concerns national Republicans and excites Democrats. National Democrats have dreamed of a blue Texas for years, thanks to changing demographics and increased urbanization.
Red-state seats held by Democrats
Other contentious seats are in red states which voted for President Trump by 20 or more points. Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota are all defending their seats against Republicans endorsed by Mr. Trump.
