6 Key 2018 Midterm Senate Races to Watch

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Friday, October 19, 2018

Nevada

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., meets with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Washington, D.C. on July 19, 2018. Kavnaugh was sworn in on Oct. 6, 2018. | (PHOTO: TWITTER/ @SENDEANHELLER)

Republican Sen. Dean Heller appears to be the one Republican senator in most danger of losing his seat in 2018.

In 2016, Clinton won Nevada with 47.9 percent of the vote to Trump's 45.5 percent. A Real Clear Politics average of polls shows that Heller has a slim 46 percent to 44.3 percent advantage over Democrat challenger Jacky Rosen, who has represented Nevada's third congressional district on Capitol Hill since 2017 and has the backing of former President Barack Obama.

Heller came under fire for his support of newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. While much was made last month about the four decades' old sexual misconduct accusation made against Kavanaugh by Christine Ford, Heller was quoted as saying that the issue was merely a "hiccup."

Heller has voted to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal the Affordable Care Act. Since Trump took office, FiveThirtyEight reports that Heller has voted in line with Trump's positions 92 percent of the time.