“In just a few weeks Demo*crats have gone from driv*ing for what figured to be an easy lay up to hav*ing the rest of the sea*son can*celled, with the next sea*son in real doubt. They seemed to have the pres*id*ency in hand, a ma*jor*ity in the Sen*ate very likely, and, while win*ning a ma*jor*ity in the House was al*ways un*real*ist*ic, they did seem to have a good chance to cut the GOP ma*jor*ity in half with a gain of between 10 and 20 seats. In*stead they al*lowed the White House to slip from their grasp, gained just two Sen*ate seats, leav*ing them in the minor*ity, and gained only a half dozen seats in the House, be*low the bot*tom end of what thought pos*sible.”
“It only gets worse. Demo*crats would need a three-seat net gain in the to se*cure a Sen*ate ma*jor*ity in 2018, a tall or*der since they’ll be de*fend*ing 25 seats and Re*pub*lic*ans just eight. Of the eight Re*pub*lic*an seats up in 2018, just one, that of fresh*man Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada, is in a state that went for Demo*crats in either the 2012 or 2016 pres*id*en*tial elec*tions (it voted Demo*crat*ic in both). No oth*er GOP-held Sen*ate seat ap*pears to be even re*motely in danger.”