Michigan Dem Senator Gary Peters staved off a pretty intense run from his challenger to keep Michigan’s Democratic representation in the U.S. Senate intact. This was a big relief for Democrats, as the seat was essentially a must-win in the face of stinging losses, which, to put it mildly, were underestimated by Dem overconfidence and misleading polling. Crucial losses in Iowa, Maine, Texas, South Carolina, and even Montana and Kansas were, at least, understood to be very much in play on election night, but slithered from the Democrats’ grasp for a solid flip in power in the Senate. At this point, races in Georgia, which has yet to call a winner in the E.C., are the only hope for Dems in the Senate to even get to a 50-50 tie – and even those races are far from assured.
