June 19, 2013

Politics

Despite Akin, Republican Senate majority hopes not lost

BY: CONN CARROLL AUGUST 21, 2012 | 2:53 PM
Leave a comment

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., has decided not to give up his nomination for U.S. Senate, effectively ending any hopes Republicans have of defeating Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., this fall, but that does not mean Republicans have lost the fight for control of the Senate, especially if Mitt Romney defeats President Obama this November.

Democrats currently have just a three seat 53-47 majority in the Senate. If Romney wins, thus making Paul Ryan the 51st vote in the event of a 50-50 tie for Senate control, then Republicans only need to win a net of three seats. That’s doable. Here are there best pick up targets:

Nebraska – State Senator Deb Fischer is beating former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey by double-digits.
Missouri
North Dakota – Rep. Rick Berg, R-N.D., leads former state attorney general Heidi Heitkamp by 5.
Montana – Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., leads Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., by 4.
Wisconsin – Former Gov. Tommy Thompson, R, leads Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., by 4.
Virginia – Former-Gov. Tim Kaine, D, narrowly leads former-Gov. George Allen by half a point.
Florida – Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Fla., is narrowly beating Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., by two-and-a-half points.

And here are the Republicans most vulnerable holds:
Maine – Former Gov. Angus King is crushing Secretary of State Charles Summers by 27.
Massachusetts – Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., is narrowly beating Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren by under one point.

So if Republicans lose Maine and Massachusetts, but pick up Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, and Virginia or Florida, they will still control the Senate. And if Brown holds on in Massachusetts, then Republicans can lose in Virginia and Florida and still win control of the Senate.

Akin may have done Obama and Harry Reid a big favor on Tuesday, but even without Missouri Republicans have a better than even shot of winning the Senate.

View article comments Leave a comment

More from washingtonexaminer.com

From the Weekly Standard

  • June 17, 1953

    Today, speaking at the Brandenburg Gate, President Obama paid appropriate tribute to the brave East Germans who rebelled 60 years ago against Communist dictatorship:

    Read More...
  • Problems of the Second Generation

    The Boston Marathon bombings highlighted, once again, the challenges of assimilating Muslim youth. And while the onus of accountability ought not rest exclusively on Muslim Americans, it...

    Read More...
  • Release Osama Bin Laden’s Files on Taliban

    The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it was moving forward with its attempt to negotiate with the Taliban, which has opened a long-awaited political office in Doha, Qatar. The...

    Read More...