The 2012 Senate Races

[OmahaBlueDog]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2012

Democratic incumbent elections

Dianne Feinstein of California
Tom Carper of Delaware
Bill Nelson of Florida
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii
Ben Cardin of Maryland
Debbie Stabenow of Michigan
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Claire McCaskill of Missouri
Jon Tester of Montana
Ben Nelson of Nebraska
Bob Menendez of New Jersey
Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico
Kirsten Gillibrand of New York
Kent Conrad of North Dakota
Sherrod Brown of Ohio
Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania
Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
Jim Webb of Virginia
Maria Cantwell of Washington
Joe Manchin of West Virginia
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin


Independent incumbent elections
Joe Lieberman of Connecticut
Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Republican incumbent elections
Jon Kyl of Arizona
Richard Lugar of Indiana
Olympia Snowe of Maine
Scott Brown of Massachusetts
Roger Wicker of Mississippi
John Ensign of Nevada
Bob Corker of Tennessee
Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
Orrin Hatch of Utah
John Barrasso of Wyoming


On our side, it's the class of 2006 up again. The GOP will go hard after Manchin, the Nelsons, McCaskill, Cantwell, and Kohl. I'd say Webb, but my sense is he'll be OK.

On our side, our best shots are Snowe, Brown (we'd better get that one back), and we should contest Kyl and Ensign hard. Bailey Hutchison is intriguing, as she will likely be primaried if she runs again. Corker may have the same problem.

[Ken Burch]

1. If Lugar retired, we'd have a shot in Indiana.

The guy's been around since '76, after all. He might well be thinking about it.

[OmahaBlueDog]

2. I think it's a really good shot that he retires... but who could we run?

I'm not saying we couldn't win -- I'm saying I don't know a damn thing about Dems in Indiana.

[Ken Burch]

3. Well, there was the suggestion that somebody had in an earlier thread

That John Mellancamp could run(this was when Evan Bayh stood down).

If there's anybody out there who could truly connect with everybody in that state who feels left out, whether their anger goes left at the moment or temporarily right, it'd be him.

And, let's face it, he's more qualified for this job Caribou Barbie would be for the presidency.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. If the Republicans won a majority, he'd be president pro tem of the Senate

As the longest serving member. I wonder if that might make a difference in his decision whether or not to retire? :shrug:

[Ken Burch]

6. Well, that's largely a ceremonial job.

Strom Thurmond had it in the early Eighties, and ended up having to sign the Martin Luther King Holiday resolution after it passed the Senate(that's one of the pro tem's jobs). I've always wondered how many shots of bourbon he needed to knock back before his eye and hand stopped twitching long enough for him to pick up the pen for the signing.

As to Lugar, with the important committee chairmanships he's had in the past, I don't know that he'd be that desperate for ego-stroking.

Could be, but can't say at this point.

[Ter]

9. Believe it or not, Thurmond supported the MLK holiday

It was Jesse Helms who opposed it.

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Just a thought, since he'd be third in line to the presidency,

Which is pretty heady stuff, even though the chances are slim to none that it would ever come to pass. And Orrin Hatch x( disputes the Republican seniority rules, thinks he actually has seniority. :eyes:

And this is another reason that the loss of the House is so devastating. Instead of Nancy Pelosi, we have John Boehner, as Speaker, next in line after the VP. If I was forced to choose, I'd pick Lugar, any day. ;(

As for Strom Thurmond, Yikes! :scared:

[Hannah Bell]

4. They're already doing opinion polling in washington state to prepare.

i've hung up on two rnc polls.

[MineralMan]

7. Michele Bachmann is giving serious consideration to running

for Amy Klobuchar's seat. Whether she does so or not is probably up in the air.

[OmahaBlueDog]

8. My understanding is that Klobuchar is pretty popular, but that is a seat we'll need to defend

Bachmann would be the second coming of Joe McCarthy in the Senate.

[MineralMan]

11. She's very popular, state-wide.

Not as progressive as Al Franken, of course, but that's to her advantage in the elections. She has a very strong reputation for service to her constituents, and that's a very strong point here in Minnesota. Bachmann's reputation in that area is abysmal. Statewide, we're not as liberal as some might think, so balancing Franken with the centrist position of Klobuchar helps keep both our Senators Democrats. I don't think Bachmann has much of a chance in a Senatorial battle against the well-liked Klobuchar, but it bears watching.

[DFLforever]

15. Approval rating in the high 60/s

Of course that was last March. Much has changed politically in the nation since then.

[Scruffy1]

16. She could never win a state wide race.

Her district is the ultimate gerrymander. Keith, Elison and Betty McCollom both have districts bordering hers that are 80% Democratic.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

10. If Obama is reelected in a landslide and we retake the House in 2012 we will still lose the Senate

IMO.

[annabanana]

13. Wouldn't it be nice if Connecticut could somehow shake

dopey Joe?

[beac]

14. I think Joe the traitor is going to have a hard time of it. The "Connecticut for Lieberman" party

has disowned him:

http://ctforlieberman.blogspot.com/

Democrats don't trust him and, while he got a lot of Republican votes the last time, I'm sure the state party wouldn't welcome him into the fold b/c of the (very) few issues on which he still holds a liberal position.

He must know this so look for him to use his remaining two years to furiously shill for corporations in order to set himself up for a nice cushy job in private sector-- while screwing his constituents and all of America, of course. :puke: