ANALYSIS — Last September, I wrote in this space that small developments had given Democrats “some reason for optimism about next year’s fight for the Senate.” But I also noted that the party would “need an upset or two to win control of the chamber next November.”

More than seven months later, circumstances have changed.

Democrats no longer need an “upset or two” to win control of the Senate later this year. In fact, while the fight for Senate control in November is a toss-up, I’d probably put a pinkie on the scale for Democrats right now.

It’s not that Democrats have really widened the playing field, though they have. Those “extra” races on the board, in places like Montana and Georgia, aren’t the greatest of opportunities for them.

It’s simply that the Democrats’ initial top prospects have succeeded in proving their fundraising mettle and have taken advantage of Donald Trump’s GOP.