With just 15 days to go until election day polls are one way to gauge the state of the race but money is another. Scripps reporter Joe Saint George shows us the significance of Republicans recently spending large amounts of money in traditionally conservative states.
So how is this election going? Well depending on who you ask you get a different answer but one key to figuring out the state of the race may get to follow the money. Not with the presidential race but with Senate contests around the country.
Currently, there are 53 Republican senators and 47 Democratic senators. These are all the states with Senate races this year.
For months Republicans have believed they can flip Alabama. Democrats believe they can flip Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, and Maine at least.
But take a look at where Republicans have been forced to spend money in the last week. Republican Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell's campaign committee in the last week has sent $3.6 million to help Republicans in Iowa, $3.2 million to help Republicans in Alaska, $2.5 million to help Republicans in Montana. He even wrote a check for $138,000 to help Republicans in Kansas.
D.C. political analyst Eric Ham predicts this could mean a blue wave may be on the horizon nationwide.
"People now recognize how important the Senate is. How important Congress is. Because it's in the senate where you approve appointees. Not just justices but also members of the presidential cabinet," said Ham.
It's not just where Republicans are being forced to spend money, it's the record-breaking amount of money Democrats are raising nationwide. In the relatively conservative state of South Carolina last week. Jaime Harrison, the Democratic challenger in the Senate race there, reported a record-breaking $57 million raised in the last quarter alone.
