The horse race analogy for U.S. Senate races, in the Evergreen State, has produced high stakes for our sitting Senators, as well as a salient joke: Most Republican hopefuls couldn’t pass the urinalysis test. Email blasts from Sen. Patty Murray inevitably warn of GOP expenditures and always carry the moniker: “Fight back.”
The stakes are high locally. Washington has dogs in the Senate hunt. A Democratic-run body would be a check on multiple Trump excesses. Federal services and staffing would be restored. And there is the factor of power to get stuff done.
Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have been Senate seatmates for a quarter century. The tenure of the two has nearly matched that of the fabled “gold dust twins,” Sens. Maggie and Scoop, who served together from 1952 to Magnuson’s defeat by Gorton in 1980.
Should Democrats take back a majority, Patty Murray would again chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, resuming her role as our state’s provider. Maria Cantwell would retake leadership of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, currently chaired by Ted Cruz. A busy Senator is Cantwell, with seats on two other A-list panels: Finance and Energy, and Natural Resources.
The national struggle for U.S. Senate control gives Democrats a fighting chance if they sweep the board. Seattle is in the game in the quest for donations. The Democrats’ best pickup prospects are Maine and North Carolina. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine is forever “very worried” before caving and going along with Trump. Popular Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is challenging but is 77 years old. In North Carolina, GOP Sen.Tom Tillis is retiring. The Democrats have a blue-chip candidate in ex-Gov. Roy Cooper. He is due here late this month.
In turn, Republicans have targeted Georgia Sen. Jon Osoff — witness the disgraceful FBI taking of Fulton County (Atlanta) election records. Osoff too is coming through Seattle.
There is also a three-way Democratic primary fight in Michigan, where Sen. Debbie Stabenow is calling it quits. And it gets ever more interesting. The Democratic Party is coming back to Iowa, where Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is hanging it up. Ex-U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is seeking a comeback in Ohio after losing his seat in 2024. He will face GOP Sen. Jon Husted, named to succeed Vice President J.D. Vance.
Hope springs eternal for Democrats in Texas, shut out of statewide office for 35 years. Sen. John Cornyn is part of Republican Senate leadership, a down-the-line Trumpster yet not far enough far right for some Texas Republicans. Cornyn is being challenged by Texas AG Ken Paxton, popular with the far right despite past indictments and a messy divorce. The Dems would dearly love to face off against Paxton.
No state has been more negatively impacted by Trump’s “big beautiful” bill than Alaska. Sen. Dan Sullivan voted for the big ugly despite its Medicaid cuts. Popular ex-U.S. Rep. Mary Pertola is running, as a fisheries expert and the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress. She is due here next week. Alaska is a solid red state, yet its electorate shows an independent and libertarian streak.
This article also appears in The Cascadian Advocate.
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