The Cook Political Report on Aug. 20 moved the Senate races in Texas and Iowa from Lean Republican to Toss Up, its most competitive rating, and shifted both states’ governor’s races in the Democrats’ direction.
Jessica Taylor, the Senate and Governors editor for the Cook report, wrote that Republicans keep a structural advantage on this year’s map and that Democrats “still need almost every key race to break their way.” Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take the chamber.
In Texas, state Rep. James Talarico is the Democratic nominee against Republican Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general. …