Midterm Polls Show Competitive Senate Races

With the November midterms approaching, Republicans face a close contest to keep control of the Senate. Polls reveal that Democrats are gaining ground in key races. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, while Democrats, including two independents, have 47. A net gain of four seats would give Democrats a majority.

Pollsters, often right-leaning, reported Democrats leading in many critical races. These races span Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, with polls from late September and October.

Recent Poll Findings

Georgia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina appeared less competitive, with Democrats leading. In Alaska, ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates. A candidate needs more than 50% of first-choice votes to win outright.

If no candidate wins outright, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Votes for eliminated candidates go to the voters’ next choice. This continues until a candidate surpasses 50%.

Caution is advised in interpreting poll results due to margin of error and timing differences. Yet, similar trends appear across polls.

Trafalgar Group Results

The Trafalgar Group found Democrats ahead in five of eight races surveyed. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton led Republican Senator Roger Marshall. In Maine, Troy Dale Jackson led over Senator Susan Collins. Abdul El-Sayed was ahead of Mike Rogers in Michigan.

Democrats showed leads in Ohio and Texas, though within the margin of error. Sherrod Brown led Jon Husted in Ohio, and James Talarico led Ken Paxton in Texas.

Republicans had leads in Alaska’s Dan Sullivan over Mary Peltola, Iowa’s Ashley Hinson over Josh Turek, and in South Carolina where Darline Graham led Annie Andrews.

InsiderAdvantage Polls

InsiderAdvantage showed Democrats competitive in seven of nine races; South Carolina had Republicans leading, and Maine was tied.

Surveys in Alaska, Kansas, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas showed Democrats leading in varying margins.

Big Data Poll Results

Big Data Poll showed Democratic leads in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. The poll did not include results for other states. El-Sayed had an advantage in Michigan, Flanagan led in Minnesota, and Brown was ahead in Ohio.

Rasmussen Reports Findings

Rasmussen Reports showed Democrats leading in six of eight contests. Turek led Hinson in Iowa, while Jackson led Collins in Maine. El-Sayed was ahead in Michigan, and Flanagan led Tafoya in Minnesota. Brown maintained a lead in Ohio.

In Texas, Talarico was slightly ahead of Paxton. South Carolina was the only race with a Republican lead, where Graham led Andrews.

Rasmussen also reported a tie in Alaska between Sullivan and Peltola.

This story was produced using Martyn, Newsweek’s AI assistant. Contact editors Ben Kelly and Yannick Demoustier for more information.