Who will win the Senate? These 9 races are the ones to watch.

Don't sleep on the Senate

The real races to watch are in these states.
(Image credit: Photo Illustration | Image courtesy iStock)

With the battle royale of Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton dominating the attention of Americans, it's easy to ignore the other races and initiatives on the ballot on Nov. 8. But don't sleep on the Senate — control of which is being very hotly contested, and is critical to how America is governed over the next two years.

Republicans won the chamber with a majority of 54 seats to the Democrats' 46 (counting the two independents in the Democratic caucus) in the 2014 midterm election wave, coming at the sixth year of President Obama's term. Two years later, things are looking much better for Democrats, with Clinton the odds-on favorite to win the presidency. Still, on a seat-by-seat basis, the Senate is going to involve a lot of close calls. And those close calls would mean a huge difference for Clinton's potential ability to govern — most notably, in making appointments to the Supreme Court, lower courts, and many executive offices.

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