Republicans in the US Senate, the upper chamber of Congress that holds the power to confirm judges and high-ranking government officials, risk losing their majority in Tuesday’s elections.
The 100-member Senate currently has 53 Republicans. There are 33 seats up for grabs in the regular election cycle this year and two additional special elections.
The Republicans are defending 23 seats on election day, with several races looking like the Democrats will swing to victory or are tight enough that pollsters consider them too close to call.
Of the 12 Democrats fighting to stay in the Senate, just one – Doug Jones of Alabama, currently the only senator the party has from the Deep South – clearly risks losing.
The Republicans have used their majority to block judges nominated by the last Democratic president Barack Obama and push through hundreds of judicial appointments by President Donald Trump.
In South Carolina, long-serving senator Lindsey Graham, a key Republican figure on foreign policy who is now the chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, is in a close race.
In North Carolina, the incumbent Republican Thom Tillis is trailing Democrat Cal Cunningham in the polls despite a sex scandal plaguing the challenger.
In Arizona, former astronaut Mark Kelly is poised to unseat Republican Marth McSally, a former military pilot. The seat was once held by Republican icon John McCain.
Maine’s race has the Democratic challenger with a slight margin over Susan Collins, who has held her seat for nearly 24 years. Colorado’s incumbent Republican is also staring at an upset.
