Republicans Scent Senate as US Midterms Arrive

Washington: With Senate control on the line, US Democrats hope they don't get steamrolled by Republicans in today's midterms, but most signs point towards President Barack Obama's party suffering crippling election setbacks.

Recent polls show Republicans pulling ahead in the battle for power in Washington despite races in Alaska, North Carolina and other states remaining very close, and they expressed confidence in the home stretch of one of the most pivotal midterm elections in years

Democrats currently hold a 55-45 Senate advantage.

So if Republicans, who already hold the House of Representatives, take a net six seats in the Senate, Obama will spend his last two years in office facing a hostile Congress as he contends with the Ebola crisis, Islamic extremists and improving the economy.

"We intend to be a responsible governing Republican majority," the party's top Senator Mitch McConnell told ABC News as he barnstormed his state of Kentucky.

The veteran politician is locked in the tightest race of his career with resilient Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, but two weekend polls showed McConnell extending his lead.

"The wind is at our backs," Senator Rand Paul, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, told CNN on Sunday. "I think people are ready for new leadership," he added.

Republicans have hammered home their message that a vote for Democrats is a vote for a tarnished Obama and his policies, in particular his still unpopular health care reform. "This is a referendum on the president," Paul told NBC.

In the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are in play, experts predict the Republicans will gain more seats.

Three top forecasters now give Republicans between a 70 percent and 77 percent chance of winning the Senate as well.

- Iowa in focus -

But however successful the Republicans are, a complete picture may not emerge today.

There are strong prospects for runoffs in Louisiana and Georgia, where rules require a second round if winners do not earn more than 50 percent of the vote.

Add to that a probable days-long ballot count in remote Alaska, where there is an unpredictable and tight race, which would also delay matters.

Louisiana's runoff is December 6, but a Georgia runoff would be on January 6, three days after the start of the new Congress.

Polls -- and history -- show that Republicans would have the advantage in overtime in both states, although there would be intense ground games and ad wars, especially if the fate of the Senate were still up in the air.

While both parties have rolled out their surrogates to rally voters, Obama -- all too aware of his status as a lightning rod for Republican criticism -- has largely steered clear of the campaign trail.

And his today's schedule shows a President seeking to appear above the fray, scheduling a series of meetings on defense and Ebola -- but no last-minute stumping for Democrats.

In heartland Iowa, The Des Moines Register newspaper put Republican Joni Ernst a full seven points ahead (51-44 percent) of Congressman Bruce Braley, who is struggling to keep the Senate seat in Democratic hands.

"It just shows the momentum that we have here in Iowa," Ernst, an Iraq war veteran, told Fox News. "People are rejecting the failed policies of Congressman Braley and they want a new direction for America," he added.

Other data suggested the race was dead even there. A Quinnipiac University poll on Monday showed Ernst and Braley tied at 47 percent.

- Wildcards in mix -

An incumbent President's Party historically fares badly in elections in the middle of his second term, and today is expected to be no different.

But Vice President Joe Biden said he does not "agree with oddsmakers" and felt Democrats could hold the Senate, a sentiment the White House said Obama shared.

With Republican voters showing greater enthusiasm, Obama has regularly exhorted Democrats to head to the polls.

One Democratic casualty could be Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, a swing state where early ballots show challenger Cory Gardner with an eight-point advantage.

There are also wildcards in the mix. Independent Greg Orman could oust Republican Senator Pat Roberts in Kansas, and he has said he could caucus with either Democrats or Republicans.

Polls open in eastern states beginning 6:00 am (1100 GMT).