# 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:** 36
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/703 "2020-11-11T14:16:10Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > who is majority leader if senate is 50-50? In that scenario Senate Democrats would control the chamber, and presumably Chuck Schumer would become Majority Leader. It’s important to point out, though, that the Senate never votes for a “Majority Leader.” Each party caucus votes independently for their floor leader – whichever party controls the chamber, that floor leader is the Majority Leader and the other floor leader is the Minority Leader. I may need to be corrected on this, but I believe that the position and rights of the Majority Leader (to schedule votes, to be recognized first on any matter) are a entirely a matter of Senate tradition and precedent and not formally in the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/704 "2020-11-11T19:29:41Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > In that scenario Senate Democrats would control the chamber, and presumably Chuck Schumer would become Majority Leader. It’s important to point out, though, that the Senate never votes for a “Majority Leader.” Each party caucus votes independently for their floor leader – whichever party controls the chamber, that floor leader is the Majority Leader and the other floor leader is the Minority Leader. I may need to be corrected on this, but I believe that the position and rights of the Majority Leader (to schedule votes, to be recognized first on any matter) are a entirely a matter of Senate tradition and precedent and not formally in the rules. Doesn’t the entire chamber vote on the nominee out of the majority party’s choice? That would mean a 50-50 tie, unless one party member switches sides. Would the VP break a tie in that case? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/705 "2020-11-11T19:54:06Z")
There is no Senate vote for Majority Leader. It’s all based on the tradition that the floor leader of the majority party, elected by the Senators from that party in a caucus meeting, is the Majority Leader. The floor leader of the minority party (as elected by that party’s caucus) is Minority Leader. In a tie Senate, it’s the VP’s party that is able to command a majority in the chamber. The last time this happened was in 2001 when the incoming Senate was split 50-50 with VP Cheney breaking the tie. So Republican Trent Lott was recognized as Majority Leader (although there was a lot of negotiation between the parties on things like committee ratios and budgets). In May of that year, Republican Senator Jim Jeffords announced that he would caucus with the Democrats, giving that party a 51-49 edge. The day he joined the Democratic Caucus, Minority Leader Tom Daschle become Majority Leader Tom Daschle (and Lott became Minority Leader). No Senate vote was necessary. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/706 "2020-11-11T20:02:23Z")
Very interesting. Three periods: early 1900s, when state voter preferences for Senate and for President ran together; late 1900s, when they often diverged; and today, when they run together again — favoring Republicans, mainly thanks to sparsely settled states in the mountain West. ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/707 "2020-11-13T19:28:09Z")
Are there still any polls being conducted now that we’re in the Georgia runoff phase? (Ossoff vs Perdue, Warnock vs Loeffler)? I get that polls weren’t dead-on balls-accurate again this year, and I understand there’s a whole thread devoted to theories about why that was - my question (maybe more GQ? IMHO?) is are you aware of any pollsters “taking the temperature” in Georgia, to see if maybe the two (D)'s might be making this a horse race? From what I’ve gathered they’re both huge underdogs “on paper”. I didn’t see any polls subsequent to October 31st listed on 538, hence the question. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/708 "2020-11-15T17:53:37Z")
I haven’t seen any recent Georgia polls, either. The Dems’ backbiting has already begun, alas: > **[Analysis | All the reasons Democrats say they did poorly down ballot](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/14/all-reasons-democrats-say-they-did-poorly-down-ballot/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F2cbdbc6%2F5fb00ff39d2fda0efb68586c%2F5dd81b3bae7e8a731978f77f%2F38%2F60%2F8f674ff06691af01d0af3fb2be1da35e)** > > They're floating everything from not campaigning hard enough, to getting tagged as socialists, to Nancy Pelosi’s freezer of ice cream ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/709 "2020-11-16T03:49:23Z")
Coward. > **[Georgia Sen. David Perdue declines to debate opponent ahead of January 5...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/politics/david-perdue-jon-ossoff-debate-georgia-runoff-election/index.html)** > > Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue has declined an invitation to debate Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff ahead of the January runoff election for his seat, CNN has learned, and will instead be represented by an empty podium. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/710 "2020-11-16T05:58:44Z")
Well he did get his ass handed to him in the previous debate… ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/711 "2020-11-16T13:03:29Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I hope that doesn’t happen again, but I’m afraid it might. A lot of 2020 voters in heavily Dem areas waited eight hours in line to vote Trump out. I don’t think they’ll do that again for Jon Ossoff. If the Republican candidates are running against Biden and Schumer even though they won’t be in the ballot, then the Democrats should run against Trump and McConnell, even though they won’t be on the ballot. Selling the race as a chance to vote out Mitch might be a winning tactic. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/712 "2020-11-16T13:22:38Z")
The average person doesn’t care about McConnell. He’s very good at knowing when to leverage his power and when to scurry away into the background. Most of the time he is in the background so trying to make him the boogeyman within such a small window of time probably won’t be effective. For what it’s worth I don’t think the average person cares about Schumer either. He’s very inoffensive and you can go weeks without really hearing from him. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/713 "2020-11-16T23:35:51Z")
> [@Boycott](#): > > For what it’s worth I don’t think the average person cares about Schumer either. He’s very inoffensive and you can go weeks without really hearing from him. They’ll run against Schumer because he’s a Scary Jew. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/714 "2020-11-16T23:46:02Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > They’ll run against Schumer because he’s a Scary Jew. Scary Northern New York East Coast Liberal Urban Elite Jew. (I really should try to harvest some wing-nut welfare $ writing this stuff. It is SO EASY!) ---
**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:** [December 2, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/715 "2020-12-02T20:40:41Z")
> **[Democrats Make History In Changing The Southwest](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/11/30/democrats-southwest-election)** > > As political analyst Ron Brownstein points out, the party will hold all the Senate seats in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico for the first time since the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/716 "2020-12-03T01:55:50Z")
Mike Pence swears in his second brand new Arizona Democratic senator in just under two years. There weren’t any others since Jan 3, 1995 (Dennis DeConcini). > ---
**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:** [December 3, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/717 "2020-12-03T15:43:11Z")
hopefully Cunningham does not waste time running for 2022 NC senate open seat. Gov. Cooper might have run but his Lt. governor is now GOP member. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/718 "2020-12-03T16:12:40Z")
The downside to that otherwise great news is that, in a continuing trend, the four blue Mountain states contain about 17 million residents while the four red states (WY, ID, MT, UT) have about six million combined. The country’s small states don’t really deserve an Electoral College boost since they already have a gigantic advantage in the makeup of the Senate. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/719 "2020-12-03T16:18:08Z")
North Carolina Democrats have my full permission to drop kick anyone who so much as mentions Cal Cunningham for Senate in 2022 square in the nuts. This does illustrate a problem for Democrats in 2022. For all the talk about them having a “good map” – i.e. they’re defending 12 seats versus 22 for Republicans – their bench in many of the Republican held “swing states” is remarkably thin. If you look at the Senate seats where the Republican incumbent won with 55% or less in 2016 – AK, FL, IN, MO, NC, PA, WI – they’re almost all dominated by Republicans at the state level. PA and WI are the only exceptions, and probably Democrats’ best opportunities for pickups. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/720 "2020-12-03T17:00:30Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > PA and WI are the only exceptions, and probably Democrats’ best opportunities for pickups. The PA seat will be open. Prime pick up op. The WI seat is held by Ron Johnson. This fucking guy… > **[My Call With Ron Johnson: He Knows Biden Won But Won’t Admit It - The Bulwark](https://www.thebulwark.com/my-call-with-ron-johnson-he-knows-biden-won-but-wont-admit-it/)** > > The Wisconsin senator says it would be “political suicide.” ---
**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:** [January 20, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/721 "2021-01-20T14:46:59Z")
> **[3 new Democratic senators sworn in, flipping control of the Senate | CNN...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/20/politics/democratic-senators-swearing-in/index.html)** > > Vice President Kamala Harris formally swore in three new, barrier-breaking Democratic senators on Wednesday afternoon following her own inauguration, officially giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since they lost the chamber in... ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876/722 "2021-01-20T14:53:31Z")
I was kinda hoping Biden would swear in ossoff, as he is taking Biden’s place as youngest senator. Harris swearing in warnock makes me very happy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-senate-races-2020/852876.md?page=35)