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Democrats will face crucial contests for key Senate seats in the 2022 midterms– some key races; plus, Dr. Fauci says the US should consider vaccine mandate for domestic flights. Biden says no federal solution to the pandemic.
Although Democrats lead the chamber, centrists Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have made the Senate more of a 50-50 split, making the 2022 midterms a must-win for both parties. Here are some key races.
Democrat Mark Kelly won the special election in 2020 and will face reelection for a six-year term in November. Currently, it’s unclear who his challenger will be. Some speculate the possibility of Republican governor Doug Ducey running for Senate, as he can’t run for reelection due to gubernatorial term limits. Trump vowed not to endorse Ducey because of his certifying Biden’s victory.
With Republican Senator Pat Toomey retiring, Democrats have an opportunity to grab a Senate seat. Currently, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is dominating the fundraising race, leading chief rival Rep. Conor Lamb in primary polls, NBC reported. Also on the ticket is TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz who is running as a Republican.
Democrats have yet another opportunity to capture the seat of our retiring Republican, in this case Richard Burr. Former state Supreme Court Justice Chari Beasley is the leading Democrat and has the potential to become the only Black woman in the Senate and the first ever to represent North Carolina, ABC reported.
The state flipped to Senate seats for Democrats following two decades of Republican wins. Raphael Warnock, a former Baptist pastor, is defending his seat in a special election. According to the Associated Press, he faces a challenge from likely Republican opponent Herschel Walker, a University of Georgia football hero, which could turn ugly as skeletons are exhumed from the closet.
On Monday, Doctor Anthony Fauci said it is “worth considering” enacting a vaccine mandate for air travel within the United States. International travelers already must show vaccination proof and a negative test and wear a mask to board a flight entering the US, CNBC reported.
“When you make vaccinations a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated,” Fauci said in an interview. “If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”
During a meeting with US governors on Monday, Fox reported that President Joe Biden said he agreed with two GOP state executives that there was no one-size-fits-all approach to solving the pandemic.
“There is no federal solution,” Biden said. “This gets solved at the state level.”
