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Democrats are within reach of their magic number this election — a 60 percent majority in both chambers of Congress.
In the Senate, they could secure a filibuster-proof majority, which would set the seal on a new epoch of one-party domination.
It still appears unlikely that Senate Democrats will quite hit that mark, but the party also beat similar odds two years ago when it won three of four key races to take a bare majority.
All eyes Tuesday night will be on three Southern states — Georgia, Kentucky and Mississippi — with Democrats needing at least one to reach their prize.
The party seems set to expand its 51-member conference with victories in open seats in Colorado, New Mexico and Virginia, and it has also polled ahead in five other states — Alaska, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon.
It would need to win all eight, plus one of the three Southern states, where Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) are fighting for their political lives.
Democrats would have to win yet another one of the Southern targets if someone like Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) is able to hang on, or if Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) defects for the GOP — an increasingly likely scenario.
Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Sunday that 60 seats would be “very, very difficult.”
“I will say this: With 56, 57, 58, we’ll be able to get a lot done in the Senate to help change the country,” Schumer said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
In the House, Democrats control 235 seats and are a lock for 236 when Democrat Marcia Fudge replaces the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio).
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has talked openly about a 250-seat majority, but other analysts are predicting a possible 25- or 30-seat gain.
A 25-seat gain would put Democrats at 261 votes, which is exactly 60 percent of the 435-member House.
Asked Monday about a 25- or 30-seat gain, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Chris Van Hollen tried to lower expectations.
“I do worry about hearing some of those numbers,” the Maryland Democrat said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “To get those numbers, you’d have to have all the toss-up [races] go in the Democratic column.”
Democrats have cast a wide net this cycle and are currently favored in about 10 GOP-held districts, with another two dozen seen as toss-ups. They wouldn’t have to sweep those toss-ups, but they would have to win most of them.
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