Senate News & Analysis

Should the NRSC Spend Any Time on Lautenberg?

by Stuart Rothenberg September 27, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

Twice within the past week I’ve seen or heard comments that Republicans may decide to take a shot at Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) next year, since his poll numbers suggest vulnerability.

While it’s unquestionably true that the National Republican Senatorial Committee has few offensive opportunities in 2008 and…

In 2008 Election Cycle, How Bad Is Bad for Senate Republicans?

by Stuart Rothenberg September 13, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

While the 2008 elections are still more than a year away, Democrats appear well-positioned to score additional gains in the Senate. Many observers assume that those gains will be modest, but the party has a serious chance to replicate — or even exceed — its gains of 2006.

Idaho Senate: Democratic Prospects Still Slim

August 27, 2007 · 6:39 PM EDT

Republican Sen. Larry Craig’s status for 2008 has been a question mark, even before Roll Call broke the recent news of his June arrest. Craig had yet to give the NRSC an official, or even unofficial, heads up about whether he would seek a fourth term. And he showed a…

Idaho Senate: Craig Arrested, Pleads Guilty Following Incident in Airport Restroom

August 27, 2007 · 5:04 PM EDT

Roll Call’s John McArdle has this Breaking News:

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday…

For Mark Warner, There May Be Too Many Options

by Stuart Rothenberg August 20, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

Most people would like to have more choices in their life. But for some, life offers too many options. Take the case of Mark Warner, the former and possibly future governor of the commonwealth of Virginia.

Warner was a popular governor who was prohibited from seeking a second…

And the Senate Race Is On in South Dakota

by Stuart Rothenberg August 9, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

I have had an almost-finished column sitting on my desk since the end of June. It’s not that I couldn’t finish it. I just decided to put it on hold, indefinitely.

But the recent coverage of National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign’s (Nev.) statement that it’s time…

Watts Video Shows He Has a Ways to Go in Texas

by Stuart Rothenberg August 2, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

Having watched thousands of campaigns over the past couple of decades, I have come to understand that the candidate you meet in July of the off-year is not always the same person you see again 15 months later. Candidates, and their campaigns, often improve with experience, and they start…

Is Al Franken Laughing All the Way to a Senate Seat?

by Stuart Rothenberg July 30, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

Often, when comedian-turned-candidate Al Franken’s name comes up these days, Republicans just snicker. Then they say that despite all the national attention paid to his candidacy and notwithstanding his strong early fundraising, Franken can’t beat Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.).

Coleman, after all, is a polished political veteran and…

When a Candidate’s Bio Doesn’t Give the Full Picture

by Stuart Rothenberg July 26, 2007 · 12:05 AM EDT

I am not entirely sure when I first met Larry LaRocco. It may well have been on June 26, 1990, when my calendar tells me that I interviewed the one-time aide to former Sen. Frank Church (D-Idaho) during his first run for Congress.

Later that year, LaRocco won…

New Print Edition: Oregon Senate & Wisconsin 8

July 13, 2007 · 3:19 PM EDT

The July 13, 2007 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers. The print edition comes out every two weeks and the content is not available online. Subscribers get in-depth analysis of the most competitive races in the country, as well…