Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


             Column: Republicans Appear on Verge of Senate Control

   by Jim Malone

   Less than two weeks before U.S. congressional midterm elections, a
   Republican takeover of the Senate seems likely, though not a certainty.
     And we may not even know for sure on Election Day, November 4^th.
   Possible runoff elections in Louisiana in December and Georgia in
   January mean it's possible that party control of the Senate may not be
   determined until early next year.

   But what has become clear of late is that voter concerns about Ebola
   and the Islamic State are now roiling the final days of the midterm
   campaign with Democrats and Republicans alike trying to tap in to what
   opinion polls suggest is a growing public anxieties and apprehension as
   the election draws near.

   The bad news for President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats at the
   moment is that voters don't seem to be getting the assurances they are
   seeking with Ebola and ISIL dominating the headlines.  President Obama
   is at a new low in the Washington Post-ABC News poll with 40 percent
   approval.  And various surveys show Republican and conservative voters
   are more eager to vote in November than the president's core liberal
   Democratic base.

   The president's low approval numbers are limiting his campaigning on
   behalf of Democratic candidates.  Mr. Obama has focused so far on
   relatively safe Democratic states like Maryland and Illinois where he
   made appearances on behalf of Democrats running for governor.

   Battle for Senate Intensifies

   Party control of the Senate in the next Congress will be determined by
   a relatively small handful of states, many of which have voted
   Republican in recent years, where Democratic incumbents face strong
   challengers.  One of those states is North Carolina where a furious
   battle is underway for the seat now held by Democrat Kay Hagan.

   Hagan's Republican challenger is Thom Tillis, the speaker of the state
   house, and during a recent visit to North Carolina it was clear that
   the intensity is building on both sides.  Prior to a recent debate,
   supporters of both candidates had literally taken to the streets near
   the debate TV studio in the Research Triangle area north of the state
   capital, Raleigh.

   Among those supporting Hagan were activists from several women's rights
   groups including Melissa Reed, a vice president with Planned Parenthood
   Action Fund in North Carolina.  "This is probably the most important
   Senate race in the country.  The control of the Senate is really going
   to come down to three seats and North Carolina is at the very top."

   Across the street, anti-abortion protestors do their best to compete,
   trying to whip up support for Hagan's Republican challenger, Thom
   Tillis.

   Tami Fitzgerald of the conservative Women Speak Out PAC used a bullhorn
   to rally anti-abortion activists.  Fitzgerald said a strong turnout by
   social conservatives could swing the election to Republican Thom
   Tillis.  "We are working every day as hard we can to make sure Tillis
   wins.  The polling has tightened a little bit in the last week and we
   are encouraged by that.  It is still within the margin of error, so it
   is a matter of turnout and we are hoping to get our folks out to the
   polls and we are very confident that they will turn out."

   Republicans Make Obama Key Election Issue

   Politico now reports Tillis appears to be gaining momentum in a race
   that is effectively tied, in part because he is doing all he can to tie
   Hagan to President Obama, both in debates and in campaign ads on the
   airwaves.  "I'm determined to make it clear that people know that
   Senator Hagan has voted with President Obama 96 percent of the time."

   Hagan, like many Democrats around the country, wants to run on her own
   record and is not shy about putting some political distance between
   herself and President Obama.  "He (Tillis) wants to make this election
   about the president.  The president is not on the ballot.  This race is
   about who is going to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate."

   Hagan now favors a temporary travel ban for non U.S. citizens from West
   African countries affected by Ebola, something Tillis and many other
   Republican candidates across the country also support.

   Tillis is not alone among Republican candidates trying to nationalize
   the election.  In recent weeks Republican strategists have urged their
   candidates to highlight concerns about Ebola and ISIL in their
   campaigns and to keep the president a prominent political target in
   their ads and voter outreach.

   In Raleigh, longtime local political analyst John Davis said the
   president is playing a role in the North Carolina race whether he wants
   to or not.  "And right now his numbers are lousy.  His job approval is
   in the low 40's overall.  It is in the mid 30's on foreign policy.  So
   this is a great time to, if you are a Republican, to tie your opponent
   to the president.  Lousy numbers and it matters a lot in a midterm
   election year."

   Davis also said Democrats face some huge challengers this year in
   getting their core supporters out to vote.  "Good year for Republicans,
   midterm years historically.  Terrible year for Democrats.  Their
   traditional constituencies, African-American, single women, young
   people just simply don't turn out in big numbers."  In the end, Davis
   predicts Tillis is likely to pull out a victory, bolstering Republican
   hopes for a Senate majority.

   One wild card in the North Carolina Senate race is Libertarian
   candidate Sean Haugh.  Haugh could be a factor in a close race even
   though he draws only single-digit support in recent public opinion
   polls.  During a recent interview conducted before he had to report to
   his job delivering pizzas, Haugh spoke about why he joined the race.
   "So just as an act of conscience I personally wanted to make a
   statement in November that I want something other than more war and
   more debt and I'm very gratified that apparently there is a large base
   of voters here in North Carolina who feel the same way and are being
   attracted to my campaign now."

   Senate Democrats on the Defensive

   North Carolina is one of several states that voted for Republican Mitt
   Romney in the 2012 presidential election where incumbent Senate
   Democrats face strong Republican challengers.  Republicans are already
   favored to take over Democratic seats in West Virginia and Montana and
   their candidates lead in Alaska, Arkansas and Louisiana.  More
   ominously for Democrats, Republican Senate candidates are doing better
   than expected in Colorado and Iowa, two states that President Obama
   carried in both his presidential elections.

   A Republican victory in North Carolina would probably signal a takeover
   of the Senate, said free market advocate Mitch Kokai of the John Locke
   Foundation in Raleigh.  "Most people think that if they are going to do
   it, North Carolina is probably one that they are going to have to win
   because Hagan would be one of the easier targets."
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/republicans-appear-on-verge-of-senate
   -control/2491225.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/republicans-appear-on-verge-of-senate-control/2491225.html