The fight for the Senate majority is closing in as the coronavirus threatens to plunge the economy into a severe recession, and President Trump’s handling of the crisis has come under intense scrutiny.

With Election Day just more than six months away, some Senate Democratic candidates are starting to out-fundraise Republican incumbents in states where Trump’s approval rating has taken a hit.

Senate Republicans control 53 seats and are still the favored to retain control of the chamber, but Democrats are starting to close the gap.

“Broadly, over the last several months, the Senate has overall gotten more competitive to the point where I don’t know if it’s quite 50-50 in terms of the battle for control — maybe you’d slightly rather be the Republicans — but I think it’s become very competitive,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor at Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

“States like North Carolina and Maine have gotten better and better for Democrats throughout the cycle,” he added.

A Political Report, by The Cook, a nonpartisan forecasting group, says, “the chances of Democrats taking back the Senate are rising and now close to 50-50 odds” with “several plausible paths” for Democrats to win a majority.

Jesse Hunt, the communications director for the NRSC’s, has asserted that a wave of donations from Democrats on the coasts won’t be enough to overcome what he has labeled a lack of support for liberal policies.

“Democrat candidates are relying on the same liberal donors that have been fueling the dark-money groups spending big against Republican incumbents,” he said. “Money can’t erase their embrace of a socialist agenda deeply unpopular with mainstream voters.”

“I think the Democrats definitely look like they’re in a better position. I think it’s due primarily that middle-of-the-road Americans are probably not too happy with the president’s performance during this crisis,” said Steven Smith, a professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis.

“The biggest problem for Republicans is the president. Money comes with that,” he added.