7:35 a.m. EST February 4, 2014  WASHINGTON (AP) It turns out that the November congressional elections dominated President Obama's meeting Monday with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

In addition to Reid, D-Nevada, the meeting also included Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Guy Cecil, the committee's executive director.

Democrats already face an uphill effort in seeking to regain the House majority from the Republicans in November. Some party members are also concerned about being able to hold onto the Democratic majority in the Senate after the elections.

The Democrats currently enjoy a 55-45 advantage in the Senate, including two independents who caucus with the majority. Republicans will need a net gain of six seats to win a new Senate majority.

Of the 35 Senate seats that are up in November, Democrats are having to defend 21 of them.

That includes races in red states like Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana, and North Carolina, and other states where Obama lost in his own 2012 re-election campaign or is otherwise unpopular.

So one strategic question for this year's Senate elections: How often -- and where -- will Obama campaign for fellow Democrats?

Congress is preparing to send President Barack Obama a massive, five-year farm bill that provides food for the needy and subsidies for the nation's farmers.

The Senate is expected to pass the almost $100 billion-a-year compromise bill Tuesday after the House passed it last week. The bill provides a financial cushion for farmers who face unpredictable weather and market conditions and makes a limited cut to food stamps, which supplement meal costs for 1 in 7 Americans.

The final bill would get rid of controversial subsidies known as direct payments, which are paid to farmers whether they farm or not. Most of that program's $4.5 billion annual cost would be redirected into new subsidies that would kick in when a farmer has losses.