Key Senate Races in Dead Heat Before Election

Two key Senate races that will help determine which party controls the upper chamber are effectively tied just days before the midterm elections, according to new polls.

The CNN/ORC International polls of the campaigns in Iowa and North Carolina, released late Friday, found both races to be within the margin of error. In Iowa, Republican Joni Ernst holds a narrow, two-point lead over Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley for the open seat. In North Carolina, incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan is clinging to a two-point lead over Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis.

Republicans need a net pick-up of six Senate seats to recapture the majority. Political forecasters see that as increasingly likely, but the campaign remains very close ahead of Election Day on Tuesday.

Both polls had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.