Senate races in four states are neck-and-neck in polls released Monday that show the battle for the chamber will come down to the wire.
The New York Times and Siena College polls said Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is deadlocked with Republican Adam Laxalt at 47% in Nevada, while Sen. Raphael Warnock holds a 49%-46%, lead over Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia.
Democratic leaders have fretted about squandering a winnable race against Mr. Walker, a football legend who has no political experience.
In places where Democrats want to flip seats, the NYT-Siena polls found Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman clinging to a 5-percentage-point lead over Republican Mehmet Oz despite concerns about Mr. Fetterman’s health and shaky debate performance. Some polls had shown Mr. Oz, a celebrity doctor, pulling ahead.
The polls were largely conducted before the debate. In one night of polling calls after the debate, Mr. Fetterman held a slight lead over Mr. Oz, but a plurality of respondents also said the Democrat was not healthy enough to do the job.
The brightest spot for Democrats is in Arizona, where Sen. Mark Kelly held a 6-point lead over Republican Blake Masters.
Parties that control the White House often face backlash during the midterm elections, and this cycle is topsy-turvy but trending badly for Democrats of late.
Republicans are on track to win the House, and the Senate is in play after earlier forecasts suggested Democrats would hold onto control. Vice President Kamala Harris serves as a tie-breaking vote.
Inflation is a drag on Democrats who’ve controlled Washington for the past two years, and President Biden’s low approval numbers are considered a drag on the party.
The new polls show the four key Senate candidates rising above Mr. Biden’s approval ratings, which ranged from 36% in Arizona to 42% in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Kelly beats Mr. Biden’s approval by 15 points in Arizona, and Mr. Fetterman is ahead of the president’s rating by 8 points, giving Democrats hope they can hold on and win.
Pollsters called respondents over multiple days during the last week of October. The margin of error in all of the states was between 4 and 5 percentage points.
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• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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