With two months until Election Day, Senate Republicans remain almost entirely on defense. Still, two of their most endangered senators were never elected to their current post to begin with —appointed Sens. Martha McSally of Arizona and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia. And both of them are at serious risk of not returning.
Since 1980, about two-thirds of appointed senators seeking re-election have ultimately been successful. But just over a quarter ultimately lose. So these situations McSally and Loeffler find themselves in are not necessarily unique. But Senate control has not recently hung in the balance with two appointed senators making such a difference in the GOP's tenuous hold on their majority.
McSally has the tough task of winning a Senate seat just two years after voters rejected her for the same position — something no politician in recent history has tried. Former Sen. Jon Kyl served as a placeholder for the seat after Sen. John McCain's death in August 2018, but after McSally lost to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema just months later, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey chose the then-congresswoman to
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.