The midterms were a disaster for Democrats' 2020 Senate hopes

U.S. Capitol building.
(Image credit: iStock/flySnow)
Jeva Lange
By
published

There are a lot of reasons for Democrats to be cheery on Wednesday, but the outcome of the midterm Senate races is not one of them. With three key races (Arizona, Florida, and Montana) still too close to call, and the Mississippi race going to a runoff, Democrats are looking at a potential 45-55 make-up in Republicans' favor in 2019. "It's not the only important takeaway, but one important takeaway from last night is that it's going to be basically impossible for Democrats to have a governing coalition if they beat Trump in 2020," explained Vox's Dylan Matthews.

The math could look like this: In 2020, Democrats would need to hold all of their current Senate seats — including Alabama — plus flip six held by Republicans, including in all likelihood Arizona and Georgia, as well as places like Iowa, Colorado, Maine, and North Carolina. (As David Faris explains for The Week, "Democrats may very well be underdogs everywhere but Colorado.")

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Jeva Lange
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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