I dunno...I think the Republicans are going to stall out around 48 seats. Just a gut feeling.
One very interesting note: a number of states have minimum wage hike ballot initiatives in play, and they're all passing. Even in blood-red states like Nebraska, they're passing with about 60-65% approval. Republicans simply can't defend their opposition to a national minimum wage increase when their core states are passing them.
I wish I possessed your gut.
I'm a little less sanguine about the 48 number now that Kansas and NC have started trending red. :-/
BUT...results are starting to come in for Iowa and Braley has a pretty solid 13-point lead with 6.9% reporting. I don't know the full dynamics of Iowa politics, but there's a pretty good chance that the Dems hold on to Iowa. They're set to win NM and lose CO, which I was already counting in my math on the previous post. If they hold IA, then I think the Republicans have to run the table in the other 4 (including the LA runoff) to take control. Which they could do. But at least the Doom That Came to Washington will be delayed by a couple of months. And if Begich pulls out a win in AK or the NC race flips back to Hagan or Orman sneaks ahead of Roberts in KS, then things start to look a bit rosier for the Dems. It's a knife-thin margin, but it's a margin. Credit them pulling out MI and NH for even still having hope at this point.
EDIT: SHIT. Forgot about Virginia. And Gillespie (R) is currently leading Mark Warner (D), although narrowly. That makes the calculus a bit hairier.
Add VA to the mix, and GOP needs to win 4 of 6 to take control.