In recent days, Republicans appear to have opened up leads in several key Senate battles, including Alaska,Colorado, and Iowa. Add those to their already established edges in Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia — and the GOP right now has the lead in about eight Democratic-held seats. Whether that translates into a Senate majority remains to be seen, especially as we wait on whether Kansas Republicans can tag “independent” candidate Greg Orman as an effective Democrat (which he basically is).