Mid Term Elections

Battle For Senate Narrows to Six States

Link: Battle For Senate Narrows to Six States By: Nate Cohn

Brief Summary of Main Points:

• The midterm election is quickly approaching and the Democratic and Republican territories are being determined for the Senate.
• Although most states have marked as either Democratic or Republican there are a few states that could go either way.
• Although it seems that all of these states would be swing states: New Hampshire, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Colorado, these states only consist of two swing states: Colorado, and Iowa, while the other states are Kansas, Louisiana, Alaska, and Arkansas which are usually Republican states.
• The current standings of how politicians are doing in the race now is important because it will have an affect on the results of the midterm election.
• The race between the Democratic and Republican parties is very close, and the Republicans could very well take control of the Senate.

Connection to the Questions:

• The article relates to separation of powers because the debate among the politicians running is focused on what the executive and legislative branch have done, while working together.
• The Republicans are saying that the executive branch and the Democrats in the Senate have not done enough.
• The Democrats are saying that there has been progress made while the President has been in office and they have been working with him, but things take time.
• Based on this article and related research  think that the Legislative branch has the most power. Although the Legislative Branch may be a big figure in the federal government the debates seem to give the Legislative Branch more power.
• The Republicans say that the Democrats in the Senate have not done enough. Meanwhile Democrats have been focusing on what progress has been made.
• Overall, each party in the midterm election race is claiming what they can do in the Senate on national issues, such as the economy, making it seem like they have the most power.

Opinion:

In my opinion I think that the Republicans will gain the power in the Senate. It seems that they have more in their favor. For example a survey of about 1,100 people was taken showed that 52% of them will be using their vote to send a message to Obama, more of them opposing him and his party, than supporting them. Also, the Republicans only have to fill six seats to gain power, leaving Democrats only a small space for any errors during their campaigning. Lastly, the midterm effect could help put the Republicans in power.

Questions for Readers:

1. What political party do you think will have control of the Senate after the midterm elections? Why?
2. Which party do you think the current swing states will be won by? Why?
3. If you could vote, would you base it off sending a message to the President? Why?

Background Information:

The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory (New York Times)

The 5 Closest Swing States (Washington Post)

Economy Improving, but muddled progress could hurt Democrats in midterm elections (Washington Post)

Obama Factor in 2014 Vote Similar to 2010 (GALLUP Politics)