Close-calls make for a close-call

In a piece that does not seem to have made the paper’s web-site, the Washington Times’ Donald Lambro finds that the battle for control of the U.S. Senate appears to rest on “close-call contests” in Rhode Island, Ohio, Missouri, Tennesse and New Jersey. The headline says there’s a sixth, and Lambro suggests that Virginia may be in that category. However, he doesn’t seem persuaded and neither am I.
If the Dems win all of the five “close-calls” then barring an upset somewhere else (and there are a number of races where an upset could occur), they will control the Senate. They would also control the Senate if they won all but Rhode Island and Lincoln Chafee flipped, but with the way the national party supported him in the primary, one can hope that Chafee will remain “loyal” for a while.
Lambro says that the “political pros” are betting against the Dems winning all five races. However, the polls do not show the Republican candidate to be ahead in any of them.