Billions of dollars in ads are raining down on voters across the Rust Belt, Rocky Mountains and American southwest as the two major political parties struggle for control of the U.S. Senate. Republicans need to pick up two seats to capture a surefire majority, and one of those — West Virginia — is all but in the bag for the GOP. Republican strategists say they're targeting seven other states where Democrats are defending seats: Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Republicans are most confident about flipping the seats in deep-red Montana and reliably red Ohio. Democrats, conversely, say they are forcing competitive contests in two red states, Texas and Nebraska.
