Cory Gardner says Republicans have strong opportunity to gain seats in midterm races

By Sally Persons - The Washington Times - Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Sen. Cory Gardner said Wednesday that he still sees real possibility for Republican pickups in the Senate in the coming midterm elections.

“What we’ve seen over the past week is a significant change in the generic ballot, Republican vs. Democrat, and that’s all because of the popularity of what we’ve been able to accomplish in the last year, including the tax cuts,” the Colorado Republican said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.”

Mr. Gardner chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans.

He pointed to Missouri, Ohio and Michigan as places where Republicans have particularly strong contenders to challenge incumbent Democrats. He also said states such as West Virginia, where President Trump remains very popular, also show the possibility of flipping.

Republicans are hoping to pick up on the Trump coalition of 2016 in the midterm races this year. They say the recent government shutdown, along with Democrats’ opposition to the Trump tax plan, will play in their favor in challenging red state Democrats in particular. But Democrats argue that Mr. Trump’s historically low approval rating across the country will actually cause Republicans to lose seats.