November 2018 saw 35 total seats in the Senate up for grabs with 26 belonging to Democrats and nine belonging to Republicans before the election.
So while the GOP retained control of the Senate in 2018, they only picked up a few seats.
In 2020, those numbers are reversed.
There are again 35 total Senate seats being decided on November 3, 2020.
23 of those seats are currently held by the GOP, but three of those incumbent Republican Senators announced decisions to retire instead of seeking reelection. Democrats need only gain 3-4 seats to take control of the Senate.
One contest gaining national attention is the reelection bid being mounted by Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. The senior Senator seeks a fifth term in an attempt to secure a legacy like two highly regarded Maine Republican women, Margaret Chase Smith and Olympia Snowe.
But after garnering widespread disdain after her vote to confirm controversial Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Collins saw her support among Maineiacs steadily decline. Her vote to acquit also drew criticism from home and in the 2018 election, Collins gained the dubious distinction of being the last Republican in Congress from all of New England.
In the latest poll conducted by Critical Insights and published in the Bangor Daily News, Collins dropped to an approval rating of just 37 percent, down from 42 percent. More troubling for the four term Senator is her disapproval rating which hit 52 percent.
This is good news for Collins' main Democratic challenger, Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon.
Gideon polled higher than Collins in their last head to head bout. The official Democratic challenger for Collins will be determined in the state's Senate primary in June.
While the Critical Insights/Bangor Daily News poll showed Maineiacs had higher confidence in Democratic Governor Janet Mills over any federal efforts to contain and respond to the global pandemic, other members of Maine's congressional delegation all retained higher approval than disapproval ratings.
Junior Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, garnered a 59 percent approval rate. Democratic Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden both had just 19 percent disapproval ratings while Pingree's approval sat at 52 percent and freshman legislator Golden's was 42 percent.
People were less than sympathetic to Collins' plight.
In addition to Susan Collins, the following Republican Senators will fight to keep their seats in November:
Dan Sullivan (AK), Tom Cotton (AR), Martha McSally (AZ), Cory Gardner (CO), Kelly Loeffler (GA), David Perdue (GA), Joni Ernst (IA), James Risch (ID), Mitch McConnell (KY), Bill Cassidy (LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), Steve Daines (MT), Thom Tillis (NC), Ben Sasse (NE), Jim Inhofe (OK), Lindsey Graham (SC), Mike Rounds (SD), John Cornyn (TX) and Shelley Moore Capito (WV).
As of Monday, April 13, the 2020 election is 203 days away.
Are you registered to vote? Do you know your state's important deadlines, for registering and requesting an absentee ballot? You can get that information here.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
