The American Spectator

home
ADVERTISEMENT

The Spectacle Blog

For a time it looked like the Democrats might expand their Senate majority in 2010.  But the winds of politics have started to turn towards the Republicans.  Reports National Journal:

The death of Edward Kennedy has given the Democrats a real -- if short-term -- look at life in the Senate without 60 votes. Given the worsening political environment for the party and President Obama, it looks more possible than ever that Republicans can keep Democrats under 60 in 2011-12 as well.

On paper, the GOP has more vulnerable seats on the table than do Democrats. They have to defend open seats in two states carried by Obama (Ohio and New Hampshire) and one in a state Obama barely lost (Missouri). Republicans breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. Jim Bunning, their most vulnerable incumbent, chose to retire. Even so, holding the seat isn't a slam dunk. Meanwhile, Democrats have just one open seat in real danger today (Illinois) and just one incumbent, Connecticut's Christopher Dodd, who has been running consistently behind his potential GOP opponents in polling. Both of those states, of course, are deep blue.

Yet it's also clear that as Obama's job approval ratings fall, it's taking a toll on Democratic incumbents who, earlier this year, were seen as relatively safe. New polls show Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Harry Reid (Nev.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) as vulnerable. A GOP poll released in late July showed popular North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R) handily beating Sen. Byron Dorgan (D).

It's still 14 months till the election.  But President Barack Obama's increasing travails are likely to boost GOP fortunes.

About the Author

Doug Bandow is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and the Senior Fellow in International Religious Persecution at the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is author of Beyond Good Intentions: A Biblical View of Politics (Crossway).

http://spectator.org/blog/2009/09/02/senate-races-turning-towards-g

ADVERTISEMENT

SPONSORED LINKS

Special Feature

Better that we become a nation of choosers rather than beggars. Our symposium on choice from the May, 2012 issue:

A Time for Choosing

James Piereson

The Road from Serfdom

Stephen Moore and Peter Ferrara

FLASHBACK TO: 1984

Clip of the Day

ADVERTISEMENT