Archive
Chambliss’ Exit Shakes Up Georgia Senate Race
January 25, 2013 · 1:38 PM EST
Georgia will be on a lot of Republican, and maybe even Democratic, minds all of a sudden, following GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s surprise Friday announcement that he wouldn’t seek a third term.
The state’s senior senator had often stoked conservative ire with his willingness to work across the…
The Fight for the Senate: GOP Opportunities Abound
January 25, 2013 · 1:00 PM EST
The sheer number of the Senate seats scheduled to be up in 2014 gives Republicans reason for optimism: 20 Democratic seats and only 13 Republican seats. Add to those numbers two special elections next year -- a Democratic seat in Hawaii and a Republican seat in South Carolina.
Republicans begin…
2014 Senate Overview (January 25, 2013) Alabama - Kansas
January 25, 2013 · 12:59 PM EST
ALABAMA -- Jeff Sessions (R), elected 1996 (52%), 2002 (59%) and 2008 (63%).
The last Democratic Senate nominee to win over 40 percent of the vote in Alabama was Roger Bedford in 1996 (45.5 percent). Sessions’ December 31 FEC report showed him with just over $2.8 million in the bank. If the 66…
2014 Senate Overview (January 25, 2013) Kentucky - New Mexico
January 25, 2013 · 12:58 PM EST
KENTUCKY -- Mitch McConnell (R), elected 1984 (50%), 1990 (52%), 1996 (55%), 2002 (65%), 2008 (53%).
McConnell, who is about to turn 71 years old, is already preparing for re-election. His relationship with colleague Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has improved, which may minimize the chances of a serious…
2014 Senate Overview (January 25, 2013) North Carolina - Wyoming
January 25, 2013 · 12:57 PM EST
NORTH CAROLINA -- Kay Hagan (D), elected 2008 (53%).
Given the GOP’s recent victories in the state, Hagan is almost guaranteed a serious challenge. Mitt Romney carried the state last year, and Republican Pat McCrory won the governorship in November. In addition, the GOP now controls both houses…
Senate Majority Leader’s Biography Badly Needs a Rewrite
January 25, 2013 · 9:12 AM EST
“He has earned the trust of both Democrats and Republicans” and has a “reputation for integrity and fairness,” says the biography of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on his official Senate website.
The self-congratulatory 1,566-word tribute, which includes praise from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch,…
Can Vulnerable Democrats Defend Themselves Without Guns?
January 23, 2013 · 2:31 PM EST
Rural House Democrats are an increasingly endangered breed. And in President Obama’s second midterm election, they’ll be squarely on notice again, particularly with gun control issues coming into the political forefront -- which could have mixed implications for their 2014 prospects.
In 2012,…
The 2016 Presidential Race Begins Today
January 23, 2013 · 8:00 AM EST
It is far too early to handicap the 2016 Academy Awards, the 2016 World Series or the 2016 Summer Olympics. And yet, if you are a true political junkie, you may already be apoplectic that we aren’t yet knee-deep in discussions about the next presidential race.
While you have my pity if you are…