Senate control in question as candidates make final pitches
WASHINGTON — Control of the Senate hung in the balance as candidates from Nevada to New Hampshire made their closing pitches to voters Saturday after a tough and costly campaign. Republicans feared their slim 54-46 majority could slip away as they battled cross-currents from all sides, not least their unconventional presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
The GOP Senate candidates in Pennsylvania and Nevada, Sen. Pat Toomey and Rep. Joe Heck, left voters guessing to the end on whether they were voting for Trump. Both refused to say, in Heck’s case after initially backing Trump, then un-endorsing him last month after tape surfaced in which Trump boasts he can get away with groping women.
In New Hampshire, incumbent GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte was neck-in-neck with Democratic challenger Gov. Maggie Hassan. Ayotte faced voter anger at home after her own un-endorsement of Trump.
“I would like to see her support her nominee,” Daniel Peltier, 21, of Littleton, New Hampshire, said as he finished up breakfast at The Coffee Pot restaurant where Ayotte was campaigning Saturday morning.