Democrats lead Republicans in 5 of 7 Senate battlegrounds, new polls show
The states with Democratic leads were Michigan, Texas, Maine, Ohio and Kansas. Two other polls, for Alaska and Iowa, found candidates in a dead heat.
Bart JansenDemocrats lead their Republican rivals in five of the seven contested states that will help determine control of the Senate, according to a final set of polls before the midterm elections Nov. 3 from The New York Times and Siena University.
The Michigan poll found the largest lead among the battleground states, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed had 53% against Republican Mike Rogers with 42%. The poll was conducted before Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the primary, endorsed Rogers on Nov. 1.
The polls found significant leads in Texas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, and in Kansas, which hasn’t elected one since 1932.
In Texas, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico had 50% to Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 43%. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton had 49% to Republican Sen. Roger Marshall’s 44%.
But Republicans including President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, who campaigned together in Iowa on Nov. 1, disputed that the polls were so lopsided.
"You can dismiss the polls," Johnson told a rally in Dubuque, Iowa. "The polls are wrong all around the country."
In Maine, Democratic former state Sen. Troy Jackson had 51% to GOP Sen. Susan Collins with 45%.
In Ohio, Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown had 49% to Republican Sen. Jon Husted’s 44%.
Two other races were within the polls’ margins of error. In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola had 48% to Republican Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan’s 46%. In Iowa, Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek had 48% to Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson’s 47%.
The margins of error in the polls ranged from 4.8 points in Alaska to 3.3 points in Texas.