What tonight's key Senate races will tell us about 2016
North Carolina is "ground zero for the forces shaping 2014," Gerald F. Seib says in The Wall Street Journal. It's also an incubator for the 2016 presidential race that will inevitably pit short-term trends that favor Republicans against long-term demographic changes that tilt Democratic.
Facing off in North Carolina are mainstream Democratic incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan and mainstream conservative Republican Thom Tillis. As of Monday night, Hagan was ahead by 2 percentage points.
North Carolina is one of the four "truly fair battleground" states — including Iowa, Colorado, and New Hampshire — because it doesn't obviously lean one way or another, Seib says. President Obama narrowly won the state in 2008 and then narrowly lost it in 2012. Several of the other states up for grabs tonight, including Montana, West Virginia, and South Dakota, are typically red states that Obama lost in both elections.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As for North Carolina, the demographics in the state have for the past 20 years been on a consistently upward Democratic trend — thanks to growing Hispanic and urban populations. More recently, however, Obama's poor standing in North Carolina and the South in general help give Republicans the edge.
The results of North Carolina's Senate race — like Iowa's, Colorado's, and New Hampshire's — will either expose some Democratic weakness that will threaten their chances in 2016, or prove that Republicans' influence has its limits in swing states that will figure prominently in the next presidential run.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cubans rally for 'power and food' in rare protests
Speed Read The protests came after 18-hour rolling blackouts and food supply shortages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published