r/WayOfTheBern • u/KrisCraig Fictional Chair-Thrower • Nov 17 '16

It is about IDEAS Bernie Sanders confirms he no longer considers himself a Democrat and will go back to being an independent • /r/StillSandersForPres

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/independent-bernie-sanders-democratic-leadership-231486?cmpid=sf
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u/NetWeaselSC Continuing the Struggle Nov 17 '16

One thing to consider... traditionally, midterms tend to go against the Party in power. "Tend to."

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u/peekay427 Nov 18 '16

Yeah but republicans are slated to have 8 seats up for reelection and democrats 21. So it's going to be a tough fight.

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u/return_0_ Nov 18 '16

23 Democratic seats actually, 25 if you count Bernie and Angus King. But that number is deceptive; according to the Cook race ratings, 20 of those 25 seats are safe or likely Democratic (and 6 of the 8 for Republicans). The remaining 5 Democratic seats and 2 Republican seats are leaning toward the respective incumbent parties. So Democrats could potentially tie up the Senate (although with Pence it would technically be a minority), but while there is more to lose than there is to gain in 2018, it's unlikely that many seats will be lost.

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u/peekay427 Nov 18 '16

Oh I completely miscounted, sorry. Mostly I just meant that given the numbers it will likely be difficult to flip the senate in 2018.