Republicans began the year with high hopes of retaking the Senate
after coming up just short in 2010. Democrats cling to a narrow 53 to 47
majority, and are defending 23 seats in November. This includes several
held by freshmen who were washed in by the Democratic tide six years
ago, only to face reelection under very different circumstances.
The GOP’s prospects brightened further with a wave of fortuitous retirements. Democratic incumbents decided to call it quits in Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. In some of those cases, they were replaced with weaker Democrats.
Democratic incumbents were in serious trouble in Missouri and Montana, and seemed at least hypothetically beatable in Florida and Ohio. The only vulnerable Republican incumbent was Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who has proved remarkably resilient in a tough political climate and has managed to keep the state a toss-up.
Yet much like the presidential race, what seemed like it should have been easy hasn’t been. There will be GOP pickups, to be sure. The Democrats may have gotten their dream candidate to replace retiring Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson in former Sen. Bob Kerrey. But Kerrey hasn’t won a statewide race in the Cornhusker state since 1994 and Nebraskans have only gotten more conservative since then.
Read more: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/struggle-for-the-senate/
The GOP’s prospects brightened further with a wave of fortuitous retirements. Democratic incumbents decided to call it quits in Virginia, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. In some of those cases, they were replaced with weaker Democrats.
Democratic incumbents were in serious trouble in Missouri and Montana, and seemed at least hypothetically beatable in Florida and Ohio. The only vulnerable Republican incumbent was Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who has proved remarkably resilient in a tough political climate and has managed to keep the state a toss-up.
Yet much like the presidential race, what seemed like it should have been easy hasn’t been. There will be GOP pickups, to be sure. The Democrats may have gotten their dream candidate to replace retiring Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson in former Sen. Bob Kerrey. But Kerrey hasn’t won a statewide race in the Cornhusker state since 1994 and Nebraskans have only gotten more conservative since then.
Read more: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/struggle-for-the-senate/
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