“Many races did not field good candidates.”
Which ones?
Many of the ones we held before the ‘06 elections. Most of the prior incumbents are not running again. Indeed, of the roughly 30 seats we lost, there is only 1 (Jeb Bradley in NH) that has a substantial chance of reclaiming his seat. Only about 3 others we have better than a 50% chance of getting back. We’re at risk for losing about 31 more House seats this year, many of them retirees and some incumbents. The Dems are awash with cash, we’re not. Most GOP challengers for competitive seats will need between $1-$2 million a piece. Many of them now have only a few hundred grand, some not even that. Take a look at where we’re at in the money game per race. We’re at a dreadful disadvantage...
http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.php
Which ones?
The 11th Congressional District in Western NC, for one.
We have an Asheville libertarian-based candidate (Mumpower) who is fighting the county GOPs and is p!ssing everybody off whom he shouldn't. The two genuine conservatives (our own Congressman Billybob and Spencer) split the vote in a 3 way contest and lost. Therefore, the "minority" GOP candidate won. Sound familiar?
This is a strongly conservative district which should handily win in the GOP column but probably won't. We are represented by a blue dog ex-football "hero", Heath Schuler, who says the right things when in the District and then votes with Nancy Pelosi. A good GOP candidate might knock him off. Mumpower won't. Either of the others could have.
After this year, Shuler will be tough to beat because of incumbency.