Pfizer says its potential COVID-19 vaccine was 95% effective in final results. It will submit the candidate for approval from the FDA within days. Video Elephant
Brandon attorney Bill Blair is normally trying to win cases in a courtroom, but now he is hoping tohelp society win against the coronavirus.
Blair is one of nearly 50,000participants acting as humanguinea pigs for Pfizer's experimental coronavirus vaccine.
Pfizer and BioNTech have said data from their Phase 3 study in which Blair is a participant demonstrated the vaccine candidate was 95% effective in helping to prevent COVID-19.
Pfizer said Friday on its website that a request has been submitted tothe U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine.
If authorized by the FDA, then the investigational vaccine could be used in high-risk populations in the U.S. by the end of December, Pfizer said. At least two other companies have announced possible COVID-19 vaccines with high success rates for preventing the virus.
"There is so much negativity in this country, we need to be doing things to help each other," Blair said.
Attorney Bill Blair, a participant in Pfizer's vaccine study(Photo: Special to Clarion Ledger)
"My childrendidn't want me to do it; they wereconcerned for my safety," he said Wednesday. "My wife didn't want me to do it. She was concerned with myhealth issues that it might not be safe."
At 67, Blair said he was in the high risk category for COVID-19 due to his age and a damaged heart from a heart attack two years ago. He also suffers from hypertension andasthma.
COVID-19 on the rise: UMMC official calls for statewide mask mandate as COVID-19 cases rise
"I honestly had no fear about it and I guess you could say I was stupid about it;" Blair said. "I was just not concerned about it."
Blair said he was more concerned about a COVID-19 test swab stuck up his nose hurting than problems with the vaccine.
Blair said he wanted to be part of the historic study, but also had a selfish reason because of his health problems. It wasn't easy to become a participant in the program, he said.And Blair said he must drive three hours each way to the Mississippi Gulf Coast asaparticipant, a trip he has to make a total of six times over the two-year period.
Pfizer and BioNTech released early study results indicating that their vaccine prevented more than 90% of infections with the virus that causes COVID-19.(Photo: Getty)
When he got the first shot, Blair said he felt a little tired while driving home from the coast. The second time, he started to feel a little sick to his stomach. There was no question in his mind that he got the actual vaccine the second time. He believes the first shot was a placebo, but doesn't know for sure, since the participants aren't provided info on the shots.
That night after getting the second shot, Blair said he developed astrong case of what felt like the flu, withbad chills,a low-grade temperature of 100 and anachy body feeling. That next day, he had started feeling better but stillwent to health clinic.
"I would tell people who take the vaccine to be prepared to take off the next day because it might make you a little sick," Blair said.
After getting what he believes was the vaccine, Blair said he has a growing feeling of ease about getting the virus.
"I would tell anyone on the fence to go ahead and do it," Blair said. "I think it's safe. I would do it again and if it's (a) manual shot, I wouldbe the first in line."
Blair said he has an 8-year-old granddaughter who spends a lot of her time with. He said her life has been interrupted by COVID.
He said: "I wanted her to feel pa paw was doing whatever he could to help out."
Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.
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GOV. JUSTICE CELEBRATES SEVERAL RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACROSS WEST VIRGINIAAdditionally Wednesday, Gov. Justice took time out of his remarks on COVID-19 to discuss several recent accomplishments across West Virginia.
First, Gov. Justice celebrated his announcement Monday that DST Innovations, a UK technology company headquartered in Wales, has chosen West Virginia as the home of its new American manufacturing base; agreeing on a contract with West Virginia-based company Blue Rock Manufacturing to establish a new facility for the development of its new energy cells.
The new facility will be the forefront of green technology, using existing organic material such as coal to create new clean energy storage solutions. The development is expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs in the manufacturing and technology sectors. The manufacturing base will be located in Morgantown, with a Phase 2 expansion planned for the Southern Coalfields region of the state.
This is an absolute go, Gov. Justice said. Weve been working on this for three years. DST Innovations believes theyre going to ramp up 1,000 new jobs in West Virginia. Its phenomenal and its unbelievably good for our state.
READ: Gov. Justice: Agreement between UK company DST and Blue Rock Manufacturing to bring new manufacturing facility, up to 1,000 new jobs to West Virginia
Second, Gov. Justice discussed WVU Medicines announcement yesterday that they had successfully completed West Virginias first dual-organ transplant at Ruby Memorial Hospital.
The patient received both a new heart and kidney from an unnamed donor. The delicate and complex transplants took nine-and-a-half hours to complete, with over nine doctors involved.
This is an absolute miracle beyond belief, Gov. Justice said. We're so blessed to have these incredible medical professionals right here right here in West Virginia, and so many thanks go out to the WVU team.
READ: WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance performs states first dual-organ transplant
Lastly, Gov. Justice took time to celebrate yesterdays announcement by the U.S. Air Force that the 130th Airlift Wing, located at the West Virginia Air National Guard Base in Charleston, has been selected as a preferred alternative to convert to the C-130J-30 Super Hercules.
We all know how great our National Guard is, but its great to see them recognized on a national level, Gov. Justice said. I congratulate our 130th Airlift Wing on an achievement for which they must feel incredibly honored. I could not be happier for our entire West Virginia National Guard for being recognized with this important selection by the U.S. Air Force.
Currently, the 130th Airlift Wing operates eight C-130H3 Hercules model aircraft, which are more than 25 years old. The 130th Airlift Wing has had a C-130 mission since 1975 and has converted to numerous variations of the C-130 over the years.
READ: Gov. Justice celebrates the 130th Airlift Wings selection as a preferred alternative for conversion to C-130Js
We have all this greatness going on in West Virginia. Of course, weve always known how good we are, but now the outside world is beginning to know it too, Gov. Justice said. The world is finding out that West Virginia is the diamond in the rough that they all missed. I couldnt be more proud.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) With the announcement that vaccines may be in Tennessee for initial distribution soon, Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey explained how the plan will work.
The earliest distribution is expected on either December 14 or 15. It's 24 to 48 hours after the FDA is expected to approve the Pfizer vaccine.
"As soon as the FDA gives that decision, the federal government has committed to allocating it and shipping it to states within 24 hours," said Dr. Piercey. "We have committed to, as soon as we get it in hand, to start deploying that immediately."
The state's plan involves four phases. The first phase involves the front line against the fight against COVID-19.
Health care workers and first responders will be the first people in the state to be immunized. Eighty-thousand units of the vaccine are expected in the first shipment. The state's priority is keeping health care workers in the fight against the virus.
"When you move into phase two, that's essentially the essential worker category or critical infrastructure. And then phase three is more of a broad or general public and phase four is everybody," said Dr. Piercey.
She said she doesn't expect to reach the final phases until the late spring or summer. However, the timeline could change if more vaccine brands become available.
In the short term, the Moderna vaccine is expected just a week after Pfizer becomes available. Then, in early 2021, Astrazeneca and a Johnson and Johnson vaccine could be ready.
"We're all tired. We're tired of living this. We're tired of living in all of these restrictions. And from a health care standpoint, we're tired of feeling helpless. And so, this vaccine is just a ray of hope," said Dr. Piercey.
OncoSec recently received an FDA IND clearance to begin a phase 1 trial.
Biotech company OncoSec has secured an IND clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a phase 1 trial to study their CORVax12 vaccine. This is the first DNA vaccine candidate for COVID-19 to deliver the spike protein from SARS-CoV-2 and the immune-activating cytokine interleukin 12 (IL-12).
The vaccine combines OncoSecs immuno-stimulant IL-12 expression platform, TAVO (tavokinogene telseplasmid), with NIHs DNA-encodable stabilized trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein to treat COVID-19.
The CORVax vaccine is designed to drive a coordinated long-term anti-viral response, capable of activating both cellular and humoral immune responses. The companys TAVO IL-12 expression platform stimulates immunity in immunocompromised cancer settings and could be particularly relevant for patients at highest risk from COVID-19.
The Providence Cancer Center in Oregon is collaborating with OncoSec, and the former will be a trial site. BernardFox, PhD, chief, Laboratory of Molecular and Tumor Immunology, Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Portland Medical Center is the principal investigator for the trial.
I think one of the advantages we bring to the trial from a cancer perspective is we are used to doing sophisticated immunological monitoring, and we have standards in place that have been broadly accepted, Fox stated.
Fox spoke to Contagion recently about the vaccines platform, how adding IL-12 can potentially help augment responses in older patients, the trials parameters and insights on long-term immunity.
Physicians at the Miller School of Medicine say that data show vaccines are highly effective against the coronavirus.
As they finish inoculating local volunteers for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial and continue recruitingfor a new vaccine trial, doctors at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine are elated by early indications that the Moderna vaccine and another one are extremely effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Its incredibly exciting, said Dr. Susanne Doblecki-Lewis, clinical director for the Miller Schools Division of Infectious Diseases and the principal investigator of the Moderna trial. This shows we can have vaccines for COVID-19 that are highly effectiveand hopefully, well have several because they will make an incredible difference in the course of the pandemic.
Last week, Moderna announced that preliminary data shows its two-dose vaccine is 94.5 percent effective in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Just days earlier, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that its vaccine was more than 90 percent effective. Both companies are now in the process of mass producing the vaccines, although the vaccine trials continue to follow patients for two years after inoculation.
If it was not for the willing participants in Greater Miami and elsewhere, Doblecki-Lewis, an associate professor of clinical medicine, said the Moderna vaccine trials would not have generated positive results so quickly.
Our participants should be really proudwithout them we would not have this data, and I think well need a lot more volunteers in the future because its important that we have multiple vaccine candidates that are tested, she said. At this time in the pandemic, volunteering is a really positive thing to do to make sure we have the best possible vaccine and enough of it.
University doctors are now recruiting participants for a one-dose vaccine developed by Janssen, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. They have just a few weeks to wrap up enrollment by the end of the year and hope to get close to 1,500 participants.
At the moment, the trial is going very well, and the patients we have had so far have very few side effects, said Dr. Dushyantha Jayaweera, principal investigator for the Janssen trial and a professor of medicine in the infectious disease research unit at the Miller School.
Jayaweera noted that both the Janssen study, as well as the Moderna one, are double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. This means that half of the participants get the vaccine, while the other half will not. But both the doctors and patients are unaware of who is getting the vaccine and who is getting a placebo.
So far, the Janssen study has garnered 110 participants in the first two weeks of recruitment, but Jayaweera, and one of his co-investigators, Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, said they need many more, particularly minority candidates. Right now, he is happy to report that more than 60 percent of candidates are Black or Hispanic, but Jayaweera and Carrasquillo said that just last week they were on a conference call with Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), who emphasized the need for minority groups to participate in vaccine trials. That way the results will represent all of the people who are suffering from COVID-19. Data from the beginning of the pandemic has shown that Black, Hispanic, and Native American people are much more likely to be affected by COVID-19, and often face more dangerous outcomes.
Everything, so far, suggests positive things. But we need brave people to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective for everyone, said Carrasquillo, chief of the division of general internal medicine and a national expert on health disparities.
Physicians are optimistic about the vaccines being tested in upcoming trials because most share a critical element, Doblecki-Lewis said. All of the vaccines they are testing at the University so farand most under clinical trials in the U.S.operate by attacking the diseases spike protein, which is how COVID-19 enters into the bodys cells and replicates. But until there were some results from these first two trials, no one knew if that was the right approach to provoke an immune response. A similar method is used to create synthetic monoclonal antibodies, which are present in the Regeneron treatment that is the subject of another clinical trial at the University, she added.
When COVID-19 came about, many thought that the spike protein was the best target, but until now we werent sure that was the right focus, Doblecki-Lewis explained. It turns out that it was a good bet.
The data released about the effectiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines was also encouraging because respiratory vaccines are often much less effective, Doblecki-Lewis added. In comparison, the flu shotwhich she highly recommendsis only 70 percent effective.
Still, University physicians recognize that more than two vaccines will be needed to help immunize the nation and the world against COVID-19.
We need more than 300 million vaccines for the U.S. alone, so even if the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are ready, you need more than two, Jayaweera said. Even more important is that the public understands how rigorous we are testing these vaccines, so that they will hopefully get immunized after the trials are over. Whats the point of having all these vaccines if people do not use them?
Toward that goal, there will likely be more COVID-19 vaccine trials coming to the University, Doblecki-Lewis said. Thats because the Miller School of Medicine is part of the National Institutes of Health COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network, which is spearheading the nations vaccine efforts. Since the Miller School was already a part of the HIV Vaccine Trials network, the existing partnership made it a logical place to test COVID-19 vaccines, according to Doblecki-Lewis.
At the same time, the University is also working to:
All of these treatment efforts will help physicians continue to advocate for their patients during what will likely be a challenging winter, said Carrasquillo, who has treated many people suffering from COVID-19.
Over the past several months, we learned a lot more about how to treat these patients. We had a lower mortality in July than we did in April, and every little bit helps, he said. But for prevention there was no hope, yet listening to the data from Pfizer and Moderna, I can see a light at the end of tunnel. A vaccine is not going to happen immediatelywe are still months awaybut I am hopeful that by next summer we will be in a different place than we are now.
To participate in the Janssen vaccine trial, or any of the ongoing COVID-19 clinical trials at the University, visit https://umiamihealthresearch.org and click on the COVID-19 icon.
When could a COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Pittsburgh? And who will be able to get them first? WPXI Pittsburgh
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Texas health officials reported more than 14,000 new coronavirus infections Wednesday in what appeared to be an all-time high for daily cases.
The record comes one day before the Thanksgiving holiday. Public health authorities have urged people to celebrate apart this year, warning that family gatherings may hasten the spread of infections at a time when many Texas hospitals report overwhelming volumes of COVID-19 patients.
The seven-day average of new cases in Texas continues to surpass 10,000, having tripled since the beginning of October. Testing is also at record levels. Roughly 10% of coronavirus tests yielded positive results on Nov. 24, according to Texas Department of State Health Services data.
The state public health agency says its daily coronavirus statistics are provisional and subject to change.
Meanwhile, the number of Texans hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than doubled since the beginning of October, and Texas has reported more than 20,900 coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began.
The situation is particularly dire in El Paso, where officials have pleaded for more morgue workers as coronavirus fatalities climb. Experts say widespread fatigue has hastened viral transmission and worry the holidays could exacerbate an already dangerous situation.
Hospital administrators in North Texas, West Texas and the Panhandle have expressed concern about climbing numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations. Rural hospital administrators have reported difficulty transferring patients as larger hospitals in Lubbock, Amarillo and other larger cities run short on beds.
More than 8,500 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized on Nov. 25, according to state health officials. That was below Texas all-time high for coronavirus hospitalizations, which reached nearly 11,000 in late July.
The Department of State Health Services has said it plans to update its daily COVID-19 counts over the holiday weekend but that daily case numbers may appear lower as some local health departments report data more slowly.
Multiple state reports dated November 22 and obtained by CNN show a critical assessment from the task force at a time when it says Americans must undertake "significant behavior change," urging state and local officials to take proactive steps toward those ends.
North Dakota is yet again the state with the highest number of new cases per 100,000 population since at least mid-October, followed by Wyoming, then South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Montana, Wisconsin, Utah and New Mexico in the top 10.
However, the task force offered good news to North Dakota, which it said is "showing signs of early stabilization with a plateauing of cases and stabilization of hospitalizations at a high level."
"This is the moment to further accelerate mitigation requirements to drive down the pandemic," the report said, calling for more aggressive testing as well.
There is still not a statewide mask mandate in North Dakota.
But the reports shared bleaker assessments for many other states.
Wisconsin, the task force said, "continues to see extraordinarily high rates of cases and test positivity in an ongoing health emergency," noting that hospitalizations and deaths "are several-fold greater than the spring or summer peaks." The report commended additional measures from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and suggested "restricting indoor dining and limiting or closing areas of congregation without masking."
"At this point, the rapid increases in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths throughout the state support the importance of taking additional steps. These increased mitigation measures are a short-term sacrifice to protect the vulnerable," the report said.
Maryland, the task force report said, "is showing alarming signs of a viral surge."
"We share the strong concern of Maryland's leaders that the current situation is critical and that improved observance of social distancing measures is urgently needed to limit overrunning of hospital capacity and additional preventable deaths. The Governor's active measures are critical and are commended," the Maryland report said.
In Ohio, the task force suggested, the state "needs to continue its aggressive mitigation efforts and potentially expand the depth and breadth of interventions to further drive down this surge."
There was bad news for Georgia, which the task force said is "in the early stages of full resurgence."
"This is the moment to dramatically increase mitigation," the Georgia report said.
Minnesota, the task force said, "is seeing a continued dramatic rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, all of which are at their highest points ever in the pandemic," calling for "observance of intensified mitigation measures."
In multiple states with rising cases, including Minnesota, Washington, Vermont and Delaware, the task force recommended some short-term interventions, including "restricting indoor dining and limiting or closing areas of congregation without masking." But, the reports said, those measures "had limited success in preventing spread at private gatherings," calling for reinforced messaging about social gatherings, including avoiding large groups and using masks.
The task force shared this dire prediction for Connecticut: "Connecticut continues to see rapid rises in cases, test positivity, and hospitalizations that will lead to increasing deaths."
The report for Pennsylvania expressed concern about hospital shortages.
"The continued increase in transmission remains concerning, especially given local hospital shortages and further increases anticipated over the upcoming holidays. Recent restrictions are warranted and commendable," the Pennsylvania report said.
The task force praised Iowa this week after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds instituted some masking policy.
"Encouraged by the steps the governor is taking to decrease transmission; this is the first week where the rise in cases is less than previous weeks. Covid-related hospitalizations will continue in the coming weeks; however, with increased strong mitigation, cases could decline to the yellow zone within four to five weeks, like in states that strongly mitigated during the summer surge," the Iowa report said.
The task force raised questions about supply levels at Louisiana and Ohio hospitals.
"There are early signs of reduced N95, gown, and glove supply in specific hospitals' reporting. Please contact all hospitals reporting less than one week's supply to confirm data; contact the regional FEMA office for support if this supply issue is confirmed," the reports said.
Days before the Thanksgiving holiday, the task force urged this messaging in multiple reports: "We need to protect those we are thankful for in our families and communities. Ensure indoor masking around vulnerable family members during any gatherings."
And multiple reports encouraged states to make plans for testing university students.
"Ensure all universities returning in the winter move to mandatory weekly testing of all on and off campus students. Planning for that must begin now," reports said.
And in Minnesota, Joyce Sutphen gave thanks for
snow that comes down from Canadacovering the leaves we didnt rakeand how sometimes after that, weget a heat wave and a second chanceto put things right in the world
Not all states responded. The New York Times request came with some prosaic conditions 100 words or less on a newspaper deadline, a tall order for an exacting art form. Some states have no poet laureate. New Jersey abolished the post in 2003 amid controversy, and Idaho replaced it in the 1980s with a broader writer-in-residence appointment. The last full-time poet to hold that job, Diane Raptosh, who has also served as poet laureate of Boise, offered that states poem.
Still other states were between poets. In California, Mr. Gioias term ended in 2018 and the governor has yet to appoint a successor. Illinois had been without an official poet since 2017; we received submissions from its last laureate and the poet who succeeded him on Wednesday.
But the many writers who did respond reflected a widespread, if weary, appreciation, both for regional grit and more universal blessings. Many wrote, in these socially distanced times, of the humanity and fellowship around them.
Hawaiis poet was grateful for tight-knit island communities, Wyomings for neighbor helping neighbor / despite long distances, and Alabamas for a state where people rally to help each other out in times of crisis.
And North Carolinas for North Carolinians and the many ways we have gathered together to take care of each other. And South Dakotas for food, resources, / each other love and fears first real test. And Oklahomas for the after-tornado swarm of helping strangers / for those who smell of oil, of diesel, of dirt, of sweat.
Paisley Rekdal of Utah wrote of something unusual: crowds in the canyons. Bobby LeFebre of Colorado reached out on social media to crowdsource that states thanks for love, familia, health, work, creator, community, cultura / resilience, art, abolitionists, education, imagination, clarity / life, truth, weed, and much more.
Beth Ann Fennelly of Mississippi was grateful to be counted on: One Mississippi, Two. Grateful for the word yall. Grateful for the emphatic all yall.
Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who are Problem Solvers Caucus co-chairs, discuss bipartisan efforts to pass coronavirus stimulus for Americans.
The massive social safety net thatCongressput in place for Americans struggling because of the coronavirus pandemicis unraveling, with several key CARES Act provisions and executive orders set to expire at the end of the year.
That includes the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program created to provide jobless benefits to gig workers and others typically not eligible for benefits, and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which extends state unemployment benefits an extra 13 weeks.
An estimated 12 million workers will be left with no income on Dec. 26 after thosefederal jobless aid programs lapse,according toonestudypublished by the Century Foundation, a nonprofit think tank.
BIDEN CALLS FOR ERASING SOME STUDENT LOAN DEBT, FACES PROGRESSIVE PRESSURE TO GO FURTHER
On top of that, an order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)temporarily freezing evictions nationwide is slated to expire on Dec. 31, as does the student loan forbearance that President Trump issued via executive order in August.
Over 32 million Americans had student loans that were eligible for suspended loan payments, according to data from theGovernment Accountability Office. (While President-elect Joe Biden has endorsed some student loan forgiveness, he does not take office until Jan. 20, meaning many borrowers may have to make payments in January).
More than 5.8 million adults say they are somewhat to very likely to face eviction or foreclosure over the course of the next two months, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey completed Nov. 9. That represents about one-third of the 17.9 million Americans who were behind on their rent or mortgage payments last month.
The $150 billion inaid to state and local governments appropriated in the CARES Actcan only be applied to costs incurred in 2020, and an employee-retention tax credit for companies struggling during the virus-induced recessionendson Dec. 31.
12 MILLION AMERICANS FACE LOSS OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
The expiration of the aid comes at an increasinglyperilous time for the nation as it teeters on the brink of another economic downturn: COVID-19 infections are surging, stateand local governments are implementing more restriction measures andnew unemployment insurance claims rose for two consecutive weeks for the first time since July.
Economists are increasingly warning of a bleak winter unless Congress manages to overcome to a monthslong impasse and pass another round of emergency relief for workers and businesses reeling from the virus.
There hasnt been a bigger need for it in a long, long time here, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said recently, his latest appeal to Congress and the White House regarding another stimulus package.
PELOSI, SCHUMER URGE MCCONNELL TO RESTART CORONAVIRUS RELIEF TALKS
Negotiations on Capitol Hill have been stalled for months despite seemingly endless meetingsbetween House Speaker NancyPelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and with just eight legislative days left on their calendar, it's unclear whether lawmakers will be able to reach an agreement before year's end.
The Senate adjourned on Wednesday forThanksgivingand will not return until Nov. 30.
While there is broad support among members of both parties to pass another coronavirus relief bill, they disagree sharply over the size and scope of it. House Democrats maintain that at least $2.2 trillion in aid is needed, while Republicans have repeatedly expressed support for a "highly targeted" bill that would cost around $500 billion.
Further complicating coronavirus relief negotiations is that control of the Senate hinges on two Georgia runoff races that are slated to take place on Jan. 5. It's possible that congressional leaders may be less willing to compromise if they think their party can win control of the upper chamber.
