# U.S. Senate races 2020 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 30, 2020, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876 "2020-04-30T05:17:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/523 "2020-10-16T15:08:27Z")
[538 has Democrats up to a 73% chance of taking the Senate](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/senate/). That figure’s been going up for some time now. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/524 "2020-10-16T19:51:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > How about a scandal where the behavior involved official wrongdoing, like where [Tillis dumped stock after a COVID briefing](https://www.propublica.org/article/senator-richard-burr-ethics-investigation-stock-trading-coronavirus)? For most citizens of North Carolina, this would not be official wrongdoing. That assessment changes for _Lieutenant Colonel_ Cunningham. He is currently being investigated by the Army Reserve as a result of these disclosures. I’d call potentially violating Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice official wrongdoing. The only important fact not in clearly evidence is whether he committed adultery on days where he was on duty as an Army Reservist when the UCMJ applied. If he was, making the case looks pretty clear cut for a military prosecutor. Cunningham still faces the potential of a court martial with the maximum penalty including one year of military confinement if convicted. If it is a general court martial, that conviction would count as a federal felony in the civilian system. I doubt we end up anywhere that serious in this case. It does paint a picture. You may still not care. We cannot write off the possibility that this official wrongdoing, though. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/525 "2020-10-16T19:55:32Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Cunningham still faces the potential of a court martial with the maximum penalty including one year of military confinement if convicted. Not in the next 18 days. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/526 "2020-10-16T20:03:40Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > For most citizens of North Carolina, this would not be official wrongdoing. That assessment changes for _Lieutenant Colonel_ Cunningham. He is currently being investigated by the Army Reserve as a result of these disclosures. I’d call potentially violating Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice official wrongdoing. Meh. I was responding to what kind of scandal might move the meter. Prosecuting a military officer for fucking around, because that’s technically against the military code of conduct, is a far cry from using official briefings for personal profit instead of for informing your constituents about an incipient pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/527 "2020-10-16T20:07:08Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Not in the next 18 days. Nothing legally changes in 18 days with respect to Army jurisdiction to enforce the UCMJ. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/528 "2020-10-16T21:34:07Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > Nothing legally changes in 18 days with respect to Army jurisdiction to enforce the UCMJ . True, but after the election, who cares if the Army slaps his wrist? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/529 "2020-10-17T01:35:52Z")
Maybe the President, in his blizzard of last-minute pardons before he’s dragged out of the Oval Office, will mistakenly pardon the new senator, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/530 "2020-10-17T01:44:35Z")
Interesting. I’m curious if the Republicans have plans to give up the presidential election, but just focus on enough legal challenges to keep the Senate. Having a Senate majority is clearly the way for them to interfere with any progress on the Democrats’ priorities. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/531 "2020-10-17T13:55:25Z")
[GA Senator David Purdue getting ripped](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/16/senator-perdue-kamala-harris/) for calling Kamala Harris (his colleague in the Senate) " “Ka- _ma_ -la, _Ka_ -ma-la, Kamala-mala-mala, I don’t know, whatever,” at a Trump rally. I wonder if this could be his “macaca” moment. For those unfamiliar, at a campaign event in 2006 VA Senator George Allen referred to his opponent’s campaign aide of Indian ancestry as “macaca”. Previously on track to cruise to reelection, his campaign spiraled afterward and he ended up losing to Jim Webb by less than 0.5% of the vote. It’s interesting to consider the parallels between 2006 Virginia and 2020 Georgia. Both states were reliably conservative bastions that were rapidly politically diversifying due to in-migration and suburbs shifting from Republicans to Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/532 "2020-10-17T18:56:42Z")
Lord, I hope so! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/533 "2020-10-17T20:34:03Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > I wonder if this could be his “macaca” moment. Nah. These days, acting like a complete asshole is the best way to lock in your Republican voter. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2020, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/534 "2020-10-17T23:31:03Z")
Maybe. That seems to be Perdue’s calculation – his campaign’s explanation that he simply mispronounced her name is eyeroll worthy. But I have to assume he already has all the voters who would get off on hearing a candidate deliberately mispronounce a “furner-sounding” name in his pocket. Asian-Americans are a fast growing demographic in Georgia and one that Republicans have had some success with. In a tight race like this, a moment like this could have an outsized impact. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/535 "2020-10-18T13:22:17Z")
Despite Republicans getting their preferred candidate (i.e. anybody but Kris Kobach) in the primary, the [Kansas Senate race](https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/16/ratings-changes-in-25-house-and-senate-races-only-three-move-toward-gop/) is getting closer with Democrat Barbara Bollier raising more than four times what GOP nominee Roger Marshall did in the third quarter. Polling’s been fairly light in this one, but the most recent poll on 538 has Bollier up by 3.5%. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/536 "2020-10-18T15:11:49Z")
in this day and age does the military put people in jail for adultery? I don’t think they do. They can force Cunningham out which he probably would not care about if he’s a senator. He has 18 years in so I guess if he’s pushed out now he loses his pension. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/537 "2020-10-18T15:31:58Z")
Using mispronounciation as an excuse is almost as pathetic as the remark himself. Misprounciation isn’t “mala-mala I don’t know whatever”. That’s straight up disrespect. He debased himself to play up to the crowd at a Trump rally. He got in the gutter. I hope the sensible voters of Georgia remember that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/538 "2020-10-18T15:38:11Z")
> **[Latest House and Senate ratings show Democrats increasingly competitive in...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/18/politics/election-2020-house-and-senate-ratings-two-weeks/index.html)** > > With a little more than two weeks to go before Election Day, the national environment continues to look bright for Democrats, who are trying to flip the Senate and grow their House majority -- not to mention kick President Donald Trump out of the... ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/539 "2020-10-18T15:43:52Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Despite Republicans getting their preferred candidate (i.e. anybody but Kris Kobach) in the primary, the [Kansas Senate race](https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/16/ratings-changes-in-25-house-and-senate-races-only-three-move-toward-gop/) is getting closer with Democrat Barbara Bollier raising more than four times what GOP nominee Roger Marshall did in the third quarter. Polling’s been fairly light in this one, but the most recent poll on 538 has Bollier up by 3.5%. After the primary, I figured that Marshall would coast to a relatively easy victory. But Bollier is running an extremely smart campaign, focusing on her record and her ability and willingness to work with the other party. Marshall’s campaign is largely negative, because “she’s too liberal for Kansas.” There’s a debate this week which may prove crucial to the election outcome. Fingers crossed. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/540 "2020-10-19T01:46:54Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > [GA Senator David Purdue getting ripped](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/16/senator-perdue-kamala-harris/) for calling Kamala Harris (his colleague in the Senate) " “Ka- _ma_ -la, _Ka_ -ma-la, Kamala-mala-mala, I don’t know, whatever,” at a Trump rally. > > I wonder if this could be his “macaca” moment… You’re not alone: [‘Backhanded racism’: Biden supporters weigh in after GOP senator mocks Kamala Harris’s name](https://www.aol.com/mynameis-kamala-harris-david-perdue-211227895.html) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/541 "2020-10-19T15:33:33Z")
Texas Senator John Cornyn gave an [interview with the Fort Worth Star Telegram](https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article246503045.html) where he claims that he’s had many disagreements with Trump, but that he’s kept them all private. And illustrates the point with a weirdly sexist analogy about how “a lot of women” go into marriage thinking they can change their man. I find the messaging here curious. Polls have shown him reliably, if not overwhelmingly, ahead of his opponent. Why risk a Twitter tirade from Trump and alienating some Republicans? Maybe his campaign is seeing some movement among independents that concerns them? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/542 "2020-10-19T16:33:41Z")
They would have to prove more than just the fact that he committed adultery. They would have to prove that the conduct directly affected the discipline of the armed forces, respect for the chain of command or maintenance of unit cohesion. The intent of the law is not to punish two adults who consented to an affair that has no impact on the military. > **[Not every adulterous affair can be punished under the UCMJ. - William E, Cassara](https://courtmartial.com/not-every-adulterous-affair-can-be-punished-under-the-ucmj/)** > > In the military, adultery can be a crime.  The Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM) lays out the elements of the crime of adultery.  Recently, the Joint [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876.md?page=28)