Michigan Senate faces tie vote as Democrats try to defy political gravity after Biden’s ouster

After Joe Biden’s performance at the debate two weeks ago, many Democrats’ concerns were not about whether the president would win re-election – a fading prospect – but whether he would drag down lower-ballot Democrats with him.

Of the three parties – the House, the Senate and the White House – the upper chamber has long been the most vulnerable. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority, but with the open seat in West Virginia expected to easily flip from Democrat to Democrat, the fight for the Senate is virtually 50-50.

A fundamental truth is becoming increasingly obvious to Senate Democrats as they become increasingly unlikely to become president: There is virtually no way they can keep their majority in the Senate unless Biden is re-elected. If former President Donald Trump wins, his vice president would decide a tie vote.

So even if every vulnerable Democrat in the Senate is re-elected, it would not be enough to preserve their majority. Democrats still consider it unlikely to capture Republican-held seats in Texas and Florida (we rate both as likely Republican), but if Biden crashes nationally, such a scenario seems fanciful.

Democrats already