Brazile predicts ‘Democratic night’ in Ohio as map widens

Washington, Oct 11 (IANS) Former US Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile on Sunday predicted a “Democratic night” in Ohio, where Indian-American Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is in a toss-up race for governor, as Sunday talk shows described Democrats pushing deep into Republican territory three weeks before the November 3 midterms.

“We’re going to see a Democratic night in our — and also in Ohio,” Brazile said on ABC’s This Week.

She did not name an Ohio race. The state is electing a governor and holding a Senate special election.

Brazile listed Republican-leaning House seats she said were now in play. “If you would have told me, Jon, in early September that I would be looking at South Carolina 1, Montana 1, Arkansas 2, Colorado 3,” she said.

“We’re campaigning in the heartland. We’re campaigning in Kansas. We’re campaigning in Nebraska,” she added.

ABC senior political correspondent Rachel Scott said 33 House races had shifted towards Democrats in the network’s ratings since Labor Day, eight of them in the past week.

On CNN’s State of the Union, Republican strategist Ashley Davis said a “blue wave” was coming in the House, putting the likely Democratic gain at “nine to nineteen, which Cook is now saying”.

Democratic strategist Karen Finney said she was also watching “Ohio and Florida Senate races, those are special elections”.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, said Democrats should worry instead about seats they should be winning but are not, and predicted Oregon’s governorship would go Republican.

Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Mike DeWine. In Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, Democrat Amish Shah faces Republican Jay Feely, while in Florida’s 22nd, Democrat Pia Dandiya faces Republican Casey Askar.

Brazile also urged voters to return their ballots, saying 54 million Americans had requested mail ballots and only 2.5 million had sent them back. CNN host Jake Tapper said more than three million Americans had already voted.

–IANS

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