For Democrats hoping the November elections set off a seismic shift in Washington, the dream scenario is not just capturing the White House, but also winning a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats in the Senate — a luxury no president has enjoyed since Jimmy Carter 30 years ago.
As far-fetched as that might seem — Democrats now control the Senate by a razor-thin 51 to 49, thanks only to two independents who vote with them — some Democrats have started thinking aloud that such a scenario is within reach.
From the Northeast to the Southwest, the Democrats have such a strong hand in this year’s Senate contests that they sense the possibility of victories in unlikely states like Oklahoma and Mississippi, and now even Alaska, which last elected a Democratic senator in 1974.
“It’s a remote possibility, but it is within the realm of plausible,” said Paul Starr, a public affairs professor at Princeton University and a liberal commentator.
Numbers help tell the story. Republicans have 23 seats to defend, including five left vacant by retiring incumbents, while the Democrats have just 12, with a competitive race expected only in Louisiana. Even there, the incumbent, Mary L. Landrieu, is still a heavy favorite.
The presidential race, too, seems to cut in the Democrats’ favor. In many states, there has been record voter turnout in the primaries, but far more for the Democrats. About 28.5 million people have voted in Democratic primaries so far, compared with more than 17.3 million in Republican races, said Curtis Gans, director of the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University.