Republicans are running short on time, money and options to stop Democrats from winning a majority of seats in the U.S. Senate, in an election that is now only two weeks away.
This report produced by Yahaira Jacquez.
Republicans are running short on time, money and options to stop Democrats from cracking the GOP's majority in the U.S. Senate.
With the election just two weeks away, President Donald Trump’s slump in opinion polls is dragging Senate Republicans in 10 competitive races.
Meanwhile, Democrats are playing defense over just two seats.
Trump: "I don’t think I hurt anybody." Asked this week about the Senate -- President Trump said this: Trump: "It’s close, the Senate." Now, facing tight reelection battles, Republican Senators such as John Cornyn are distancing themselves from the president.
The Texas Senator told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this week that he has disagreed with Trump in private, likening his relationship with the president to “women who get married and think they’re going to change their spouse, and that doesn’t usually work out very well.” Others have turned on him.
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, who is expected to easily win re-election, told constituents this week that Trump "sells out allies" and "treated the presidency like a business opportunity," the Washington Examiner reported last week.
Debate moderator: "Did you vote to take away funding for pre-existing conditions?" Sen.
McSally: "Of course I didn't." Meanwhile embattled Senators such as Arizona’s Martha McSally and Montana’s Steve Daines are working to counter Democratic attacks on their healthcare records by portraying themselves as defenders of people with pre-existing conditions.
Sen.
McSally: "I will always protect people with pre-existing conditions." Another issue Republicans hope will galvanize conservative voters, the upcoming Senate vote on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
Senator Lindsay Graham, who is running neck-and-neck with Democrat Jaime Harrison in South Carolina is one of them.
But even as Graham -- who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee -- nears confirmation for Barrett, last week he acknowledged his party’s fading position in the polls.
Graham: “Y’all have a good chance of winning the White House." Democrats need a net gain of four seats to flip the Senate, or three if they win the White House since the vice president breaks ties in the Senate.
Sen. Jeff Merkley first took office in 2009, and the Democrat is running for another term in Congress against Republican Jo Rae..
