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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The Race for Control of the Senate and the "Trump Effect"

    Donald Trump's march to the White House may have riled the Republican establishment, but it's giving Democrats fresh hope that they can reclaim control of the Senate in November. With 34 seats up for grabs – 24 of them now held by Republicans -- Democrats need a net gain of just five to regain control of the chamber.

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    KCRW placeholderBy Todd Purdum • Mar 18, 2016 • 33m Listen

    Donald Trump's march to the White House may have riled the Republican establishment, but it's giving Democrats fresh hope that they can reclaim control of the Senate in November. With 34 seats up for grabs – 24 of them now held by Republicans -- Democrats need a net gain of just five to regain control of the chamber. Seven of those are especially at risk, because they're in states that Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012. The Senate Republican leadership's refusal to grant even a hearing to Judge Merrick Garland, Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, is adding fuel to the fire. Will Republicans pay a price for balking on the High Court? Will Trump be an albatross that sinks the rest of the GOP? We hear how his surprising success is threatening Republican Senators from Illinois and Wisconsin to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.

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      Todd Purdum

      Politico

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      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

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      Sáša Woodruff

      Producer, 'To the Point'

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      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

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      Reid Wilson

      The Hill

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      Cliff Schecter

      Daily Beast

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      Bill Whalen

      Hoover Institution

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