The Slatest

Democrats Have No Business Being Competitive in These Five States—but They Are

Even in deep-red states, Democrats and Republicans are running neck and neck in Senate races.

Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images, Win McNamee/Getty Images, and Austin Johnson/AFP via Getty Images.

This story is adapted from the Slatest newsletter. You can sign up here to get it in your inbox every day.

Winning a U.S. Senate majority is often a game of hedging bets. Every so often, though, a political party dares to dream. As we explained last month, Democrats’ most realistic path to retaking the upper chamber on Tuesday runs through a handful of purple and red states . But as Donald Trump’s approval ratings sink, that map appears to be expanding.…