A prominent nonpartisan election tracker adjusted its ratings for 14 U.S. House, Senate, and gubernatorial contests in the final stretch before voters head to the polls to determine the balance of power in Congress.
The updates released Friday by the Cook Political Report encompass a dozen House battles alongside Senate contests in Florida and Nebraska, as well as four gubernatorial races. The adjustments collectively moved more than a dozen race ratings in favor of Democratic candidates across states including Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Arizona.
In the upper chamber, the evaluation for Florida’s Senate race moved from solid Republican to likely Republican. Meanwhile, the Nebraska Senate contest shifted from likely Republican to lean Republican.
The House adjustments reflect heightened competition in districts previously considered safer for the incumbent party. In Colorado’s 5th District, the race moved from lean Republican to a toss-up. Similar shifts toward competitive territory occurred in Florida, where both the 7th and 9th Districts moved from likely Republican to lean Republican, mirroring an identical change in Indiana’s 5th District.
Additional House ratings moved from solid Republican to likely Republican in North Carolina’s 5th and 9th Districts, New Jersey’s 2nd District, and Washington’s 5th District. In several other battlegrounds, ratings crossed the competitive threshold: Ohio’s 9th District shifted from a toss-up to lean Democratic, Pennsylvania’s 8th District made the same transition, and South Carolina’s 1st District moved from lean Republican to a toss-up. Pennsylvania’s 1st District also shifted from lean Republican to a toss-up.
