General Dwight D Eisenhower

Control of both chambers of Congress is up for grabs this fall. Democrats’ chances to seize power from the Republicans hinge on a narrow set of battleground seats and states.

There will be elections in 34 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives in November. But only a small fraction are truly competitive. I’ll be using both the Cook Political Report and the Virginia Center for Politic’s “Crystal Ball” to focus on those competitive races.

Can the Democrats win back the Senate? Republicans still have some clear advantages on the map, but President Trump’s unpopularity has opened the door for an outcome that once seemed far-fetched.

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter provides independent, non-partisan analysis of elections and campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends. Founded by Charlie Cook in 1984, the CPR is the preeminent prognosticator and producer of federal and state election ratings and is routinely sourced by national and local media, political professionals, educators and researchers.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball is a nonpartisan online political newsletter and handicapping website that forecasts election outcomes and analyzes American politics. Run by the University of Virginia Center for Politics and founded by political scientist Larry Sabato, it functions as a public service for voters and political observers

Competitive U.S. House Races

According to both the Cook Political Report and The Center For Politics (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
5 Democrat and 16 Republican races can be flipped.

The U.S. House Democrats At Risk that need your help

Florida 14 U.S. Democrat Representative Kathy Castor

Florida 25 U.S. Democrat Representative Jared Moskowitz

Ohio 9 U.S. Democrat Representative Marcy Kaptur

Texas 34 U.S. Democrat Representative Vincente Gonzalez

Washington 3 U.S. Democrat Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (is only on Cook’s list )

North Carolina 1 U.S. Democrat Representative Don Davis (is only on Sabato’s Crystal Ball’s list)

The U.S House Republicans Districts that can be flipped to Democrat

Arizona 1 Help support Democrat candidate Amish Shah

Arizona 6 Help support Democrat candidate Jo Anna Mendoza

California 22 Help support Democrat candidate Randy Villegas (This race is only on Cook’s List)

Colorado 8 Help support Democrat candidate Manny Rutinel

Iowa 1 Help support Democrat candidate Christina Bohannan

Iowa 3 Help support Democrat candidate Sarah Trone Garriott

Michigan 7 Help support Democrat candidate William Lawrence

Michigan 10 Help support Democrat candidate Christina Hines

New Jersey 7 Help support Democrat candidate Rebecca Bennett

New York 17 Help support Democrat candidate Cait Conley

North Carolina 11 Help support Democrat candidate Jamie Ager (This race is only on Crystal Ball’s list)

Ohio 7 Help support Democrat candidate Brian Poindexter

Pennsylvania 7 Help support Democrat candidate Bob Brooks

Pennsylvania 8 Help support Democrat candidate Paige Cognetti

Pennsylvania 10 Help support Democrat candidate Janelle Stelson

Virginia 2 Help support Democrat candidate Elaine Luria

Wisconsin 3 Help support Democrat candidate Rebecca Cooke

Competitive U.S. Senate Races

According to both the Cook Political Report and The Center For Politics (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
1 Democrat and 5 Republican races can be flipped.

Alaska Help support Democrat candidate Mary Peltola (This race is only on Cook’s List)

Iowa Help support Democrat candidate Josh Turek (This race is only on Cook’s List)

Maine Help support Democrat candidate Troy Jackson

Michigan Help support Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed

Ohio Help support Democrat candidate Sherrod Brown

Texas Help support Democrat candidate James Talarico (This race is only on Cook’s List)

What You Can Do

Donate a little to very campaign above or focus on a few. Volunteer . This includes, but not limited to, registration drives, canvassing, phone banking, text banking, post card and letter writing. Attend their town halls, fairs and public events.

Join National Networks whose focus is on getting out the vote:
League of Women Voters
Rock The Vote

The following organizations let you decide who to communicate with: battleground state voters, a particular campaign, specific congressional races, etc. You, yourself, can organize post card and letter writing “parties”. They’re a good way to work together and network at the same time. 
Vote Forward
Postcard to Voters
Postcards to Swing States

Join National Networks whose focus is on electing local politicians:
Indivisible
Move On

The Supreme Court Ruling on Mail In Voting

The Supreme Court on Monday issued an emergency order that allows the Trump administration to move forward, for now, with plans to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections in November. Opponents say it will bring chaos to the election process only days before ballots in some states are mailed out. This is a result of two lawsuits brought by a group of states and the League of Women Voters involving an executive order President Trump signed in March directing the U.S. Postal Service to determine which voters should receive mail-in ballots.

How this affects you right now. Please check with your local county board of elections to see how this affects your decision to vote by mail in the upcoming election. Check that you won’t lose your ability to vote in the fall. The objective of this administration is to sow confusion and doubt for the upcoming elections.

A local elections board in NJ posted the following this week due to the uncertainty of how this will play out: “Anyone who is not comfortable at this time with receiving a Vote by Mail, may opt out by sending an email to countyclerk@co.hunterdon.ni.us and provide their full name, address and date of birth. They will receive confirmation that you will no longer receive a Vote by Mail Ballot and may vote early or at your polling place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Requests must be submitted no later than Friday, Sept. 4.” Check with your local site to see if changes are being made in your voting district.

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November’s Governor and State Legislative Elections