(The Washington Post) – The House is in GOP hands, and no one thinks the November midterm elections will change that. Republicans could lose governorships in presidential battleground states, and that is hardly insignificant. But House and gubernatorial contests pale in comparison to the question of who will control the Senate next January.
If Republicans win back the chamber, it could have a profound effect on President Obama’s final years in office and on the future of the Republican Party.
No single issue dominates this election, and both the president and his Republican adversaries in Congress will start the final nine weeks of the campaign season with low ratings. There is much that points to GOP gains, but this is not 2010 all over again.
For this article, dozens of political strategists have offered their assessments of the current state of play in the key races and on other questions about the political environment now and potentially in the future.