Senate News & Analysis
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (R) was supposed to have two tough fights this cycle – one for renomination and one for reelection. But those scenarios haven’t materialized yet, and Election Day is less than five months away.
Vitter was thought to be vulnerable on the right after his…
My heart sank when I saw my friend Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post write about this cycle’s elections and whether they really deserved the “anti-incumbent” moniker that they have received. Damn it, I thought, there goes another half-written column that I have to toss into the trash.
But Chris…
Rep. Charlie Melancon hasn’t made much headway in his contest against Sen. David Vitter (R) over the past seven months, but now the Democrat has a new enemy in the Louisiana Senate race: BP.
With oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak threatening the shores and marshes of his…
The post-Nevada primary chorus was loud and clear last week after former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle won the GOP Senate primary and the right to face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) in November.
Everyone seems to think that Reid is measurably better off now than he was…
Democrats and Republicans are each defending 18 seats going into the fall elections, but the national landscape has tilted the battlefield dramatically to the Republicans’ advantage. If the focus in November is on unemployment and the failure of the Obama Administration to handle big issues (e.g., the economy, the…
GREENVILLE, Miss. — Politically interested folks in the Mississippi Delta spent the last few days of May wondering about whether Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln will survive today’s Democratic runoff against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and whether Democratic Rep. Travis Childers of Mississippi’s 1st district can win in a Republican…
What a really weird week.
Rep. Mark Souder, a socially conservative Republican from Indiana, admits he had an affair with a staffer and steps down from his seat. Squeaky-clean Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D) admits he “misspoke” about his military record but says he won’t allow anyone…
The clock is starting to run out on Democrats who would like Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias out of his state’s Senate race in favor of a more electable candidate.
Given the sensitivity of such a scenario, it’s no wonder that Democrats don’t want to be anywhere near…
With less than six months until voters go to the polls, almost all of the most vulnerable Senate seats this cycle are in Democratic hands — creating an unexpected wealth of opportunities for the GOP, which just 12 months ago was headed for additional Senate losses.
But the…
One year ago, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties and gave Democrats 60 seats in the Senate. President Barack Obama and his party were riding high in Washington, and an early batch of Republican retirements gave Democrats an opportunity to expand their majority, even in the midterm elections.
…