Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has consistently coasted to reelection in her solid blue state for 30 years. However, her reelection in 2022 is not guaranteed, according to recent polling and fundraising data.
Murray, who won reelection by 18 points in 2018, has only a three-point lead over a generic Republican candidate in 2022, according to an Elway/Crosscut poll.
Congressional Democrats face an uphill battle fighting for control of the legislative branch in 2022, as the party opposite the White House traditionally makes significant gains during the midterms.
Republicans only need five seats to win control of the U.S. House, and one seat to win control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans are expected to pick up victories in multiple swing states, but it is possible for them to win in blue states too.
In 2010, Murray survived reelection by five points during an election where Republicans picked up most seats. However, Murray could lose in 2022 if a strong Republican challenges her.
In Seattle, Republican Ann Davison defeated far-left extremist Democrat Nicole Thomas-Kennedy by double-digits in the city attorney election. Thomas-Kennedy once tweeted that the person who tried to blow up a police precinct was a “hero.”
In Virginia, Republican Glenn Youngkin trounced Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the state’s gubernatorial race that many expected to be an easy victory for Democrats. Biden won Virginia by more than 10 points.
In New Jersey, Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy barely won reelection against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. The race was so close that it took days to finalize the results. Similar to Washington, Biden also won New Jersey by 20 points.
Republican Tiffany Smiley, a veterans’ rights activist and nurse, is already posing a serious challenge to Murray. Smiley raised $1 million in the final quarter of last year, and raised $2.6 million since announcing her campaign in April.
Smiley, whose reforms helped shape the Trump administration’s policies for reforming the Department of Veterans Affairs, has attacked Murray for not helping veterans in her state, despite her spending 30 years in the Senate.
“Murray has been in office for three decades, and the tremendous outpouring of support we have received clearly demonstrates that Washingtonians are tired of the status quo,” Smiley told Fox News.