CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Wednesday that Democrats pulling off an upset in the race for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) seat would amount to an “earth-shattering earthquake” in the battle for control of the Senate.
A New York Times/Siena poll found no clear leader between Graham’s replacement, his sister, Sen. Darline Graham, and Democratic rival Annie Andrews, with both polling at 48% among South Carolina voters.
“OutFront” anchor Erin Burnett noted that “even the most seasoned” commentators were surprised by the closeness of the race.
“If Lindsey Graham were in the seat, we wouldn’t be talking about South Carolina,” she said, then asked Enten, “What would it look like if Democrats pulled this out?”
Enten replied: “What would it look like? I mean, my goodness gracious, this one is an earth-shattering earthquake in terms of if Democrats are able to win in the great state of South Carolina.”
A Democratic victory there “would give Democrats about a 96% chance of winning the United States Senate. I mean, they’d be basically all the way there,” he added, before outlining other routes by which the party could wrestle control of the chamber from Republicans.
Watch the full analysis here: