Democrats need to win districts like this suburban D.C. one in Virginia to cut into House Republicans' margin. And it will show just how much Republicans can separate themselves from Donald Trump.
Social and demographic change has shaken the foundation for some of what it means to be American. It has set the backdrop of this campaign in ways that were predictable and completely surprising.
With no clear mandate likely to come out of 2016, there's little reason to be optimistic the next Congress can get much done, a scenario that has gripped Washington in recent years.
A letter from the FBI director about more Clinton emails, and the likelihood of Republicans "coming home," have apparently shifted a race that looked like a Clinton rout to something more traditional.
It can be done. How? Because of the Electoral College. In fact, through the years, the winner-take-all system the U.S. employs has skewed result after result.
Republican women have soured on Donald Trump, and Latinos are fired up against him. It's why Texas, which has gone Republican for the last 40 years, could be closer than it's been in decades.