Senate News & Analysis

2012 Senate Overview (November 18, 2011)

by Stuart Rothenberg November 18, 2011 · 4:29 PM EST

The Senate has been “in play” for months, but Republicans continue to expand the playing field by adding unexpected candidates in states from Hawaii and Michigan to Connecticut – all states where the GOP shouldn’t even be in the ballgame.

Even if the races in those states don’t…

Hawaii Senate: Same Faces, Different Races

by Nathan L. Gonzales November 4, 2011 · 12:59 PM EDT

If Linda Lingle can’t win next year, it’s going to be a long time before Republicans ever get another senator from Hawaii.

A former two-term governor with a moderate image, Lingle gives Republicans a legitimate chance to win the open seat vacated by Sen. Daniel Akaka’s (D) retirement.

Michigan Senate: Still Cooking

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 22, 2011 · 12:00 AM EDT

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) leads in money and leads in the polls but the Senate race in Michigan isn’t over yet. The state’s junior senator has been on the other side of the equation. A dozen years ago, GOP Sen. Spencer Abraham was in a similar position in the…

Hawaii Senate: Lingle Makes Race More Competitive

October 21, 2011 · 11:54 PM EDT

It appears that Republicans have pulled yet another Democratic seat onto the Senate playing field. After taking nine months to decide, former Gov. Linda Lingle (R) announced she would run for the open seat in Hawaii being vacated by retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka (D).

Her candidacy means Democrats…

West Virginia Senate: Manchin Moved to Safer Rating

October 21, 2011 · 11:53 PM EDT

Sen. Joe Manchin (D) remains the most popular politician in West Virginia. He’s successfully defined himself apart from President Obama and the national Democratic Party, and a majority of Republicans (not just all voters) give him a positive job rating.

Obama will lose West Virginia by a wide…

Why Is There So Much Mud in South Carolina?

by Stuart Rothenberg October 19, 2011 · 12:52 PM EDT

When South Carolina state Rep. Thad Viers (R) came in for an interview recently, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I knew that he was a successful, young officeholder who surely was one of the favorites to win in the Palmetto State’s new Congressional district. I knew that…

This Is Not Your Father’s Democratic Party

by Stuart Rothenberg October 12, 2011 · 9:30 AM EDT

For anyone old enough to remember Bucky Dent’s memorable home run in the 1978 Yankees-Red Sox playoff, the current makeup and political strategy of the Democratic Party has to seem very odd.

No, this isn’t your grandfather’s (or even your father’s) Democratic Party, and while that was an…

Texas Senate: Bigfoot Dewhurst

by Nathan L. Gonzales September 23, 2011 · 3:58 PM EDT

The race to replace Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) has been going on for two years, but it still has a long way to go.

Hutchison said she’d give up her seat in order to focus on running for governor in 2010. She ran for governor but…

Should Obama Run Against Congress?

by Stuart Rothenberg September 21, 2011 · 12:10 PM EDT

Congress’ job approval stinks. Everyone agrees about that.

It really doesn’t matter whether Congress’ job approval is 12 percent (last week’s CBS News/New York Times poll), 13 percent (August’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey) or 15 percent (recent Gallup and CNN polling).

Running against Congress seems like…

Political Unity Peaked After Attacks

by Stuart Rothenberg September 10, 2011 · 12:00 PM EDT

Our normal political discourse in this country has changed much in the past three decades, becoming coarser and angrier. In Congress, the two parties are increasingly at odds, unable to find common ground on many crucial issues and apparently willing to question each other’s fundamental decency.

Yet almost…