Rep. Beto O’Rourke, (D-TX), is giving incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R) his toughest contest ever. O’Rourke is running a breathtakingly bold campaign that includes appearing in all corners of Texas and before any audience that will hear him — and livestreaming it all. Meanwhile, Sen. Cruz is attacking him for skateboarding and once being in a band. The race remains tight, with recent polls showing O’Rourke within four points of the Senator. He may be the most sizzling candidate of 2018 and is a strong arms control supporter.
Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV)’s challenge to Republican incumbent Sen. Dean Heller has been consistently the closest Senate contest in the country. Every poll has shown the two candidates only one or two points apart, with the lead candidate alternating. In her first term in the House, Rosen has voted to restrict funding for new, low-yield nuclear weapons and to require accurate estimates of the budget cost for the new nuclear weapons arsenal.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a repeat Council endorsee, appeared to be coasting to re-election until mid-August with the unexpected emergence of a major third party candidate, Libertarian Gary Johnson. Johnson, a former New Mexico governor and former presidential candidate, has jumped into the Senate race against Sen. Heinrich. A new poll finds Heinrich leading, but with only 39% of the vote, with Johnson second at 21% and the GOP candidate at 11%. Three-way races are complicated, and with nearly 30% of voters still undecided, no one can be complacent.