On paper, the Republican hold on the Senate in 2020 appears tenuous at best. With 34 seats being contested, Republicans must defend 22 while Democrats need to protect only 12.

Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats while Democrats possess 45 with two independents caucusing with them. That means Democrats would have to win at least three seats to gain control.

But two things are working against Democrats in their bid to control the Senate. First, only two Republican incumbents are considered to be in trouble: Colorado’s Cory Gardner and Arizona’s Martha McSally. Georgia’s David Perdue’s seat is shaky, as is the seat of Maine’s Susan Collins. Meanwhile, if Republicans nominate someone in Alabama who hasn’t been accused of fondling teenage girls to run against Democrat Doug Jones, they should win in a walk.

Most of the seats being contested in 2020 are in GOP safe states in the South and the Great Plains. That should allow the national party to concentrate resources on races that are at risk.

Perhaps reflecting these realities, a host of prominent state Democrats who might have been tempted to run for the Senate are reluctant to make the move.

The Hill:

Senate Democrats had the opportunity to recruit a murderer’s row of popular and tested candidates with proven fundraising abilities in a handful of key states up for election next year as they seek a path back to the majority. But virtually all of those candidates have taken themselves out of the running, either because they see a bigger prize on the horizon, the White House, or because the allure of serving in the world’s greatest deliberative body is no longer what it once was.