Democrats always knew they faced a tough political map to maintain their narrow majority in the U.S. Senate this election year.

Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat opened with the retirement of longtime Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, but it was not initially accepted because voters had not elected a Republican senator in more than four decades.

But that changed when former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan became the GOP nominee in the race against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

Democratic leaders suddenly had to consider how much to spend on a race the party initially thought it could easily win.

Overall contributions to candidates topped $80 million, making the race the most expensive U.S. Senate race in state history.

Alsobrooks sought to blunt the former governor’s popularity by emphasizing the national importance of the race and pointing out that Republicans could regain control of the U.S. Senate by flipping just a few states.

Hogan distanced himself from former President Donald Trump and vowed not to undermine abortion rights in a state where registered Democrats far outnumber Republicans.

While political analysts say Hogan ran a solid campaign, he always faced an uphill battle in a very blue state.

Latest polls show it’s falling behind Alsobrooks, but it also forced Democrats to devote a lot of resources to his campaign.

Democrats face many challenges as they try to maintain their 51-49 majority in other states.

Senate control passes through Big Sky country

Democrats were dealt a blow when Senator Joe Manchin announced that he would not seek re-election in West Virginia. He also left the Democratic Party to become independent.

Republican Gov. Jim Justice now has overwhelming support to become West Virginia’s newest senator in a deep red state, handing the seat to the GOP.

That means Democrats could only lose one more seat than the other 33 elections.

Republicans are increasingly confident that the seat could belong to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana.

“Republicans really should be able to flip the Senate this year,” said Kyle Kondik, a Sabato Crystal Ball fellow at the University of Virginia.

While Kondik states that nothing is guaranteed in politics, Tester seems to be in trouble.

Montana is also a very red state, and Tester has weathered political challenges for many years.

But Tester is now widely considered one of the most endangered Democrats as he struggles to stay in office against Republican Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and businessman.

Polls show him trailing Sheehy, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball has shifted the race from “even” to “leaning Republican.”

The stakes are so high that more than $240 million has been spent on the race, which equates to over $300 per registered voter in the state.

No other state spent more money per voter than Montana.

Other races to watch

Republicans are hoping to do more than flip the two seats, and their candidates have closed the vote gap in many other races.

Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania facing a tough challenge He ran for the GOP Senate nomination two years ago. From Republican former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick, who lost to Mehmet Öz.

Oz, a famous surgeon, lost to Democrat John Fetterman.

McCormick has been winning in recent polls, and Casey recently began running an ad in which he supports former President Trump’s effort to impose tariffs on China.

In another battleground state, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin also did not hesitate to point out in an ad that she was working to get Trump to sign the “Made in America” ​​bill to help the manufacturing industry.

Baldwin in a competitive race with Republican Eric Hovdea banking executive.

Senate seat in Michigan openwith the retirement of longtime Senator Debbie Stabenow.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin is trying to defend her Democratic seat in another race that appears close.

Republican Mike Rogers, a former Michigan congressman who once chaired the House Intelligence Committee, is running against Slotkin.

“There is real potential for a surge for Republicans to get over 51 seats,” Kondik said.

A potential bright spot for Democrats could be Texas, a state where the party has been trying to win back a Senate seat for years.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz remains the favorite, but Democratic Rep. Collin Allred is closing in on him in recent polls.

Allread, a former NFL linebacker, has managed to raise a lot of money.

But Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke also had strong fundraising success in 2018, and Cruz narrowly defeated him.

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