John Thune says he does "worry" about losing the Senate, and the Nate Silver Senate forecast now sits in a race that looked far safer for Republicans just months ago. Control of the chamber is up for grabs with less than two months before Election Day.
Thune Faces a Narrowing Map
Republicans entered the final two years of Donald Trump’s term appearing to have a firm grip on the Senate. That edge has faded as Democrats push into states that once seemed beyond their reach and Republicans face a harder political environment.
Thune made the shift plain when he told South Dakota’s KELOLAND News that he does "worry" about losing the chamber. He is not talking about a remote possibility. The majority leader is looking at a chamber where the balance can still swing, and where both parties now have a realistic path to control.
Trump Approval And Spending Pressure
Donald Trump’s slipping approval ratings and voter dissatisfaction with the economy have helped turn the race into a wider problem for Republicans. Some Democratic races that once looked secure have also become more complicated, which keeps the map from breaking cleanly in one direction.
The midterm campaign is expected to exceed $3.4 billion in spending across all races. That scale tells you how much both sides believe the Senate remains in play, and why the fight has moved from assumption to scramble so quickly.
The Senate's Power
The chamber can confirm or block presidential nominees, so the outcome will shape Trump’s ability to fill administration jobs and open court seats for the remainder of his term. For Republicans and Democrats, that makes this more than a count of seats; it is a contest over who controls the machinery of government after Election Day.
Which races decide it from here will depend on where the remaining balance settles in the closing stretch. What is clear now is that Republicans once looked set to keep the Senate, and Thune’s own warning shows that advantage has vanished before the final sprint.
