It’s still very early in the 2013-2014 election cycle and plenty can change in the months ahead, but Republicans start off looking poised to make considerable Senate gains. All eight of the most vulnerable Senate seats this cycle are currently held by Democrats, and five of those seats currently…
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’ March 30 FEC report showed him with just over $2.8 million in…
KENTUCKY -- Mitch McConnell (R), elected 1984 (50%), 1990 (52%), 1996 (55%), 2002 (65%), 2008 (53%).
McConnell started the cycle with the threat of competitive primary and general elections and his re-election campaign is well underway. His improved relationship with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), hiring Paul’s campaign manager,…
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…
The Senate special election in Massachusetts took an interesting turn this week, when former Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez drew more than 50 percent of the vote to win the GOP nomination.
Gomez will face Rep. Edward J. Markey on June 25. Markey won the Democratic nomination with 57…
The deep disappointment coming from the White House, gun control advocates and the parents of Newtown, Conn., at the demise of the Manchin-Toomey Senate compromise gun bill is understandable. But some of the rhetoric following the amendment’s defeat has been over the top.
Supporters of stricter gun control…
For political junkies in a non-election year, the release of quarterly fundraising reports by incumbents and potential candidates provides one of the few moments of true delight. After all, the reports are filled with numbers, giving us quantitative measures of fundraising strength and potential electoral success.
However, those…
Sen. Max Baucus (D) will not seek re-election in 2014, according to The Washington Post’s Paul Kane.
Baucus coasted to re-election in 2008 (73 percent) and discarded Republican Mike Taylor (63 percent) in 2002 with a memorable television ad. The senator’s last competitive race was in…
Three red-state Democratic senators up for re-election next year – Alaska’s Mark Begich, Arkansas’ Mark Pryor and Montana’s Max Baucus – voted against the gun control measure offered by Sens. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa., but not Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu.
Republicans…
Not much going on these days, huh? There are only a few things on the president’s — and Congress’ — plate, including:
