I’m at the stage right before an election when I stop paying close attention to polls. People are already voting — millions, in fact, have already voted — and there isn’t much left to learn from new polls. Instead, I’ve turned my attention to a handful of races I think are interesting, both as potential bellwethers and as stories in their own right.
Virginia’s 5th Congressional District is close to home. The district includes Lynchburg, Danville and Charlottesville, where I live. Most years, the 5th is solidly Republican. But there is precedent for a Democratic victory. In 2008, Tom Perriello won the seat. He lost in the 2010 Republican wave on account of his votes for the Affordable Care Act and a climate change bill. Perriello is back this year, hoping to unseat the incumbent Republican, John Mc Guire.
South Carolina Senate is the next race I am watching. Darline Graham is running to replace her brother, Lindsey Graham, in the Senate. She is a novice politician, relying on name recognition and the full support of President Trump. In the most recent New York Times survey, Graham is in a statistical dead heat with her Democratic opponent, Annie Andrews.
Mississippi Senate is the last race I’m paying close attention to. According to many polls, the incumbent senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith, appears to be just ahead of her Democratic challenger, Scott Colom. Black Americans make up close to 40 percent of the population.
I spend enough time in South Carolina every year visiting family to get a good sense of its deeply-rooted conservatism.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing