Senate News & Analysis

Stop Grading 2020 Candidate Recruitment, Particularly This Far From Election Day

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 10, 2019 · 11:32 AM EDT

Gloating about and reporting on candidate recruitment has become commonplace in the election process. But too often, the grading and grandstanding is premature — and even completely wrong.

This cycle, Republicans are crowing after former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams declined to run for the Senate and freshman Rep.…

Arthur Finkelstein Reprised with GOP’s ‘Socialists’ Cries

by Stuart Rothenberg May 7, 2019 · 8:52 AM EDT

If you’re on any Republican list, you’ve undoubtedly received emails from one of the GOP campaign committees or a Capitol Hill communications staffer calling the Democrats “socialists.” To those of us who were around in the 1980s and 1990s, that’s nothing new. We remember the late GOP campaign consultant Arthur…

Wyoming: One Open Seat or Two?

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 6, 2019 · 2:15 PM EDT

GOP Sen. Mike Enzi announced Saturday that he won’t seek a fifth term, causing more than a handful of Wyoming Republicans to evaluate their political ambitions. 

Only seven men (and zero women) have represented The Equality State in the Senate in the last 50 years, and this is Wyoming’s…

Key Senate Races Take Shape

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 3, 2019 · 2:29 PM EDT

North Carolina. Some conservatives are unhappy with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, who is likely to draw a primary challenge later this month from retired Raleigh financier Garland Tucker III. (Rep. Mark Walker is unlikely to run.) 

Since the birth of the Tea Party movement in 2009, the most publicized political…

Republicans Have a Post-Trump Identity Crisis on the Horizon

by Nathan L. Gonzales April 30, 2019 · 8:54 AM EDT

Republicans are enjoying their ride in the White House and basking in the glow of a divided Democratic presidential field, but a monumental identity crisis is looming for the GOP.

Whether you think President Donald Trump won’t be president in two months, two years or six years, Republicans are going…

Arizona Senate: Flight Path to Victory

by Leah Askarinam April 19, 2019 · 2:30 PM EDT

A year ago, Republican Martha McSally left her House seat behind only to lose a high-profile Senate election. Now, McSally is an appointed U.S. Senator in the state’s other seat and gearing up for another high-profile campaign with the majority potentially at stake.

Arizona is the only state in the…

2020 Senate Overview: Defining the Relationship

April 5, 2019 · 2:30 PM EDT

For Republicans, there’s more at stake in 2020 than the Senate majority. 

Not only is the GOP defending more seats next year, but this class includes a mix of leadership, legislative veterans, and rising stars, who are all in races to strengthen their connection to their states.

The terrain isn’t…

2020 Senate Overview (April 5, 2019): Alabama - Kansas

April 5, 2019 · 2:29 PM EDT

Alabama. Doug Jones (D), elected 2017 special (50%). As a Democrat in a state where Hillary Clinton received less than 35 percent, Jones is the most vulnerable senator in the country. But there hasn’t been a flood of interested GOP candidates. 

Rep. Bradley Byrne, who represents Mobile and the southwest…

2020 Senate Overview (April 5, 2019): Kentucky - New Mexico

April 5, 2019 · 2:28 PM EDT

Kentucky. Mitch McConnell (R), elected 1984 (50%), 1990 (52%), 1996 (55%), 2002 (65%), 2008 (53%) and 2014 (56%). Trump won Kentucky by nearly 20 points in 2016, Republicans have a 57-42 percent Baseline advantage, and Democrats haven’t won a Senate race since 1992. But with the polarizing majority leader up…

2020 Senate Overview (April 5, 2019): North Carolina - Wyoming

April 5, 2019 · 2:27 PM EDT

North Carolina. Thom Tillis (R), elected 2014 (49%). The nature of North Carolina as an emerging toss-up should breed a competitive contest. Republicans have a narrow 50-49 percent Baseline advantage. In 2016, President Trump won by 4 points and GOP Sen. Richard Burr won by 6 points, but Democrat Roy…