The Democratic Party presently controls the U.S. Senate by a slim margin of 51-49. However, the challenge for President Joe Biden’s party to maintain or increase this majority in the coming year is growing steadily more formidable.

The electoral environment for the Senate is becoming progressively less favorable in light of Senator Joe Manchin’s (a Moderate Democrat from West Virginia) decision not to seek re-election, according to a report by Newsweek. It was expected that Senator Manchin would encounter substantial obstacles in his campaign against the Republican Party’s Governor Jim Justice, who enjoys widespread support in West Virginia.

“The senator’s decision adds further pressure to Democrats, who are likely to struggle to retain control of the Senate next year as they are confronted with a difficult election,” Newsweek noted further, adding:

Six Democratic senators are facing reelection in states that former President Donald Trump won at least once in the last two presidential elections—including the crucial swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, while President Joe Biden is once again seeking the Democratic nomination. There are no Republican senators facing reelection in states that Trump lost in either of the last two presidential elections.

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump prevailed over Hillary Clinton, the incumbent candidate who had suffered defeat in two prior presidential bids. Simultaneously, a total of 34 Senate contests transpired, all of which were decided in favor of the political party that had won the presidential election in their respective states. Joe Biden, in the year 2020, led his political party to triumphant outcomes, securing victories in 34 out of 35 states.

“Democrats have multiple pathways to protect and strengthen our Senate majority and are in a strong position to achieve this goal,” David Bergstein, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) communications director, told Newsweek earlier this week.

“In addition to defending our battle-tested incumbents, we’ve already expanded the battleground map to Texas and Florida, where formidable Democratic candidates are outraising unpopular Republican incumbents, and the DSCC is making investments to lay the groundwork for our campaigns’ victories,” Bergstein added.

Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who changed her political affiliation from the Democratic Party to an independent one in 2022, is expected to face challenges from Republican and Democratic candidates should she choose to run for re-election in the state of Arizona. Despite having formally submitted the requisite documentation, she has yet to officially declare her candidacy. The state election was won by Donald Trump in 2016, whereas Joe Biden emerged victorious in the 2020 election.

Likewise, the Democratic Party in Michigan shall strive to retain a Senate seat that becomes unoccupied as a result of Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow’s retirement. During the calendar year 2018, she achieved reelection with a relatively narrow 52.3% of the total ballots cast in her favor.

Senator Jon Tester, who is a Democrat, is presently vying for re-election in the historically Republican-leaning state of Montana. The Republicans perceived this as an advantageous situation in which they could potentially effect a shift in political representation. In the 2018 election, the incumbent candidate clinched a narrow triumph, securing marginally more than 50 percent of the overall votes cast.

“Once considered a swing state and a bellwether for presidential elections, in recent years Ohio has been solidly Republican,” Newsweek reported. “However, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is seeking a fourth term in 2024 after he was reelected in 2018 with 53.4 percent of the vote in the increasingly red state.”

Both he and Tester are competing for re-election at a time when Trump’s name appears on the ballot. This presents a strong motivation for Republican voters who have the means to prematurely end their political careers.

Pennsylvania-born Democratic Senator Bob Casey is presently vying for a fourth term in office, following his successful reelection campaign in 2018 in which he received 55.7% of the total votes cast. The inclusion of Trump on the ballot will present him with an increased challenge, given that the state’s junior senator is presently J.D. Vance, a Republican.

In Wisconsin, “Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin is up for reelection in 2024, and she’ll be seeking a third term. Baldwin was reelected in 2018 with 55.4 percent of the vote,” Newsweek added.

The Democrats’ mission will be additionally complicated by the polling data that suggests President Trump is presently in the lead over President Biden in a number of pivotal electoral states.

Based on a recent survey referenced by RealClearPolitics, it is evident that only 39 percent of voters in four crucial swing states—specifically, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina—have confidence in the president’s ability to efficiently administer the economy.