Don’t count GOP — or Democratic — seats just yet

The electorate is a lot more unpredictable than the national story line is letting on. The common narrative is that the Democrats get smacked and possibly lose both houses of Congress. I have my doubts, mostly because the narrative is based on 1994 and some questionable polling. Democrats will lose seats — most likely a lot, but we have to acknowledge that the wild cards are having their impact in states that six or eight months ago were considered GOP locks: Sharron Angle winning the GOP primary may have saved Harry Reid’s job, for instance, and the Tea Party win in Alaska could flip a long-held GOP set.

And then there is Delaware, which was expected to go to popular Republican Congressman Mike Castle, but which now is a crapshoot because of a hard rightwing challenge that could sink the GOP and keep the seat in the Democratic column.

Here is the latest polling.

This isn’t meant to say that the Democats will win any of these seats; rather, the point I am making is that this is a volatile election season and anything could happen.

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet