5 Senate Democrat Candidates Join Financial Forces in Contested Races

John Fetterman, lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic senate candidate, speak
Dylan Buell/Getty Images for VIBE, Octavio Jones/Getty Images, Sean Rayford/Getty Images. Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Gaelen Morse/Bloomberg

Five embattled Senate Democrat candidates have joined financial forces in the states of Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and North Carolina to stave off Republicans from flipping the Senate from blue to red in November.

“Please split a donation between Cheri Beasley, Mandela Barnes, Tim Ryan, John Fetterman, and Val Demings to help us make sure we expand our slim Democratic Senate majority this November,” a Democrat fundraising platform’s website reads.

The financial fund is called the “Flippable Five Fund,” which will enable Democrat pooled donations to be evenly split among candidates.

The Democrats’ plan of attack suggests the candidates may be individually struggling to raise funds and are implementing a new tactic to energize Democrat donors.

“A 50/50 Senate is not cutting it,” former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (D) tweeted Monday. “That’s why I’m joining forces with @TheOtherMandela, @TimRyan, @ValDemings and @JohnFetterman to launch the Flippable Five Fund. Because our races are Democrats’ best chance to pick up seats this November and bring change to Washington.”

The Republican candidates that Democrats are trying to defeat are J.D. Vance, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dr. Mehmet Oz, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Rep. Ted Budd (R-NC).

Republicans have less of a chance to flip the Senate than they do the House, according to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), but with a likely red wave coming in November, Republicans have an opportunity to reclaim the chamber. 

According to the Political Cook Report, the Johnson/Barnes race is a toss up. Rubio/Demings, Vance/Ryan, and Budd/Beasley lead red. The Oz/Fetterman race leads blue.

Republicans must hold all five seats in order to have the best chance of flipping the Senate. Additional Senate races in Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia have a great degree of uncertainty.

Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.

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