Holding fast in the Senate

The presidential campaign has taken up most of the political spotlight in the past few months, but the battle to control the Senate is perhaps just as significant. It will determine whether the next president can stock the judiciary with his picks and push his legislative agenda or whether he will have to contend with an obstructionist majority.

Republicans now control the chamber 53-47. To win back the Senate, Democrats need to hold onto all of their seats and flip four more—three if they win the presidential election and can rely on the vice president’s vote in case of a tie. Of the 35 seats on the ballot, Republicans hold 23.

Here are the top races to watch that will likely determine control of the Senate in November.

Colorado: First-term Republican Sen. Cory Gardner ousted Democrat Mark Udall in a 2-point victory in 2014. Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016. Gardner faces a formidable opponent in former Gov. John Hickenlooper, who initially ran for the Democratic nomination for president but has since shifted his focus to unseating Gardner. Gardner has focused more on local issues than on President Donald Trump during his campaign. When he does talk about the president, he tends to linger on how he worked with the administration to deliver things that would benefit his constituency.

Maine: Sen. Susan Collins easily won reelection in 2014 despite being a Republican in a state that has voted for the Democrat in every presidential contest since 1992. She had a solid reputation as a moderate, but then she voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court despite stiff Democratic opposition. She also voted against convicting Trump in his impeachment trial. In 2018, Democrats won the governor’s mansion and both of the state’s U.S. House seats, making the electoral environment in Maine unfriendly for Collins this time around.

Arizona: After then–U.S. Rep. Martha McSally lost the U.S. Senate election to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in 2018, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey appointed McSally to the late Sen. John McCain’s seat. Now in a special election to determine who will hold the seat until 2022, which would have been the end of McCain’s term, McSally must face Democrat Mark Kelly. He is a former Navy pilot and astronaut and the husband of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, a well-known known mass shooting survivor and proponent of gun control. As far as challengers go, Kelly represents the best kind of candidate the left could hope for, according to Michael McKoy, assistant professor at Wheaton College: “Democrats are united behind him … he’s got a lot of wind at his back.”

North Carolina: Sen. Thom Tillis defeated incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan in 2014 in what was, at the time, the most expensive U.S. Senate race ever. Now Democrats want to win back control of the seat in the swing state, which Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 4 points. Tillis is running on a message of support for the president and opposition to Democrats who tried to impeach him. He will go up against army veteran and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham in what McKoy called “the toughest reach for Democrats.”

Fourth time’s the charm

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Friday announced he had chosen U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., as his new chief of staff. Meadows, who already announced his intent to retire from Congress at the end of the year, will leave his post early to replace acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

The COVID-19 outbreak might delay the transition: Meadows learned this week he may have come in contact with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference in late February who tested positive for the new coronavirus. Meadows said he tested negative but would still quarantine himself for the recommended time period.

Meadows is Trump’s fourth chief of staff following Reince Priebus, former chairman of the Republican National Committee; former Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly; and Mulvaney, who also directs the White House Office of Management and Budget. Mulvaney will go on to serve as U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland.

Meadows, former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, developed a close relationship with the president, traveling with him to campaign events. During the Senate impeachment trial, the administration tapped Meadows as one of the few Republican lawmakers who worked with Trump’s defense team. —H.P.

Don Jr. vs Hunter Biden

In an interview that aired Sunday on Axios on HBO, Donald Trump Jr. challenged Hunter Biden to a debate over who benefited the most financially from their fathers’ public service. The president's eldest son said former Vice President Joe Biden will face scrutiny for his son’s business activities overseas if he wins the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. He also complained of a double standard between how the news media cover his activities and how they talk about the Biden family.

“I’m not going to say I haven’t benefited from my father’s last name, just like Hunter Biden did,” he said. “I’d be foolish to say that. But I haven’t benefited from my father’s taxpayer-funded office, OK?”

He then said he would be open to a debate and to releasing his tax return if Biden did.

Interviewer Jim VandeHei asked Trump about his book deal, paid speeches, and role overseeing the Trump Organization along with his brother, Eric Trump. He pushed back, saying he’s done those things for “over a decade.” —H.P.

Suing the Fourth Estate

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has now filed three libel lawsuits against mainstream news outlets over articles about Trump’s dealings with Russia.

The campaign added CNN to its list of defendants on Friday. It previously sued The Washington Post and The New York Times. All three lawsuits center on opinion articles. The CNN article asserted that the Trump campaign “assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.”

Libel lawsuits face a high burden of proof in comparison to other kinds of disputes. For a public figure or official to win he or she must demonstrate the defendant was motivated by “actual malice.” —H.P.