Cook Political Report Predicts Dems Will Win Up To Seven Senate Seats

The Cook Political Report reported Tuesday morning that Democrats will take back their majority and win five to seven Senate seats in November.

Cook Political Report’s Senate analyst Jennifer Duffy wrote that it looks like Republicans have finally reached the point where they can no longer simply run their own races. They are being drowned out by their presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Duffy wrote that ever since a tape surfaced of Trump discussing making unwanted sexual advances toward women, Republicans have been slowly sinking in polls across the country.

Democrats needed four seats to win control of the chamber assuming Hillary Clinton wins the White House (thanks to the vice president’s tie-breaker) or five without her.

“For much of the cycle, we have expected Democrats to score a net gain of between four and six seats. Since the release of the Access Hollywood tape, Senate Republicans have seen their fortunes dip, particularly in states like Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada and Pennsylvania where Clinton has established a lead,” Duffy wrote.

While Cook still maintains there are seven toss-up races: Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Florida, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania. Duffy explained that historically, one party typically wins the majority of those on the map.

“While the 2016 election has broken every political science rule and trend, we’d be surprised if this becomes one of them,” she said.