Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., center left, speak with reporters after the Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., right, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., center left, speak with reporters after the Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is referencing hurricanes to describe the “challenging election” that Senate Republicans are facing.

The Kentucky Republican says the “wind’s going to be in our face, we don’t know if it’s going to be Category 3, 4 or 5.” He named nine states, including Tennessee and Indiana, as places where Senate races are “dead even.”

“Every one of them like a knife fight in an alley, just a brawl in every one of those places,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday in Louisville. He says he hopes “when the smoke clears we’ll still have a majority in the Senate.”

Republicans have a slim 51-49 Senate majority, but they have one big advantage in the election. They are defending only nine incumbent seats, while Democrats are defending 26.