Getting a read on the Senate

Long before Hillary Clinton made the word "deplorable" so en vogue, it was term I often assigned to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). In fact, I would not be the least bit surprised if upon looking up that word in the dictionary there would be a picture of Reid.....in HD!

Thankfully, Reid is not seeking reelection this year, meaning one of the most hack-tastic political careers will come to a merciful end.

Since I've long conceded that a Republican will not win this year's presidential election.....

Whoa, Whoa! Trump can still win. 

Ahem. Like I said, since a Republican will not win the 2016 presidential election, it is imperative that the GOP hang onto to both chambers of Congress, especially the U.S. Senate.

As of today, the Republicans hold a 54-46 majority in the upper chamber. However, it's pretty much a forgone conclusion that they will lose Illinois (Sen. Mark Kirk is the proverbial dead man walking). Also, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has been behind by a substantial margin for some time, so the Badger state looks to be returning that fossil Russ Feingold to Washington. That would put the GOP majority at 52-48. With Republicans hanging on for dear life in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Missouri, there is little margin for error. If Republicans lose just two of those seats, it's all of a sudden a 50-50 Senate with a VP Tim Kaine breaking any potential vote deadlocks.

With that in mind, the GOP would have to flip a Democrat held seat in order to better their chances of maintaining a majority. What makes that tricky is of the 34 Senate seats up for election, only 10 are currently controlled by Democrats. Of those ten seats, eight are considered "safe" for Dems. Of the two not deemed "safe," one is Colorado, where incumbent Michael Bennet has recently opened up a double digit lead. The other state without a "safe" label? You guessed it. Reid's state of Nevada. As of this week, Republican candidate Joe Heck holds a slim lead over Democrat challenger Catherine Cortez Masto.

If the Republicans hold the Senate by virtue of flipping Reid's seat, it would absolutely make my election night. To me, it would be the most fitting way to end the career of this, as Dennis Miller once called him, vague, translucent, living shade.

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