2014 is shaping up to be potentially a good year for the GOP in the Senate side. The unpopularity of Obamacare and 7 Red State seats up for grabs, gives them an opportunity to make gains. If the GOP runs the table and make unexpected gains elsewhere, they may gain the senate. At worse they are looking at a 4 – 5 seat gain. Here s a good analysis
The GOP has been struggling to recapture the Senate majority for nearly a decade. Now, the sixth year itch, a plethora of vulnerable red-state Democrats, and Obamacare’s unpopularity appear to be forming a perfect storm – if the Republicans want it.
Six years ago, the Democrats were riding high: after winning the Senate back two years prior amidst scandals and the Iraq War, they improved their gains greatly, coming within a seat of a supermajority (which then-Republican Senator Arlen Specter happily granted just a few months later). This was accomplished with a mix of reasonably close overthrows of sitting Republicans (Sununu, Stevens, Coleman, and Smith), a wider rebuke of another (Dole), and picking up three seats vacated by retiring GOPers (Warner, Domenici, and Allard). Despite holding several seats in Republican territory, the popularity of incumbents Pryor, Landrieu, Baucus, Johnson and Rockefeller assured the Democrats that the Great Blue Wave would see no consolation prizes for the Republicans.
Republicans have an opportunity if they play their card rights and run good candidates. Republican primary voters need to research who they are voting for and avoid candidates who get into bizarre esoteric topics.
