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**SNIP** Midterm elections are often a reflection of the approval rating of the incumbent president and now President Obama stands at 42.8%. And elections in the 6th year of a PresidentÂ’s term are usually not good for the incumbentÂ’s party. To make things even worse for Democrats, the issues of a weak economy and Obamacare make November look bleak for Harry Reid and his Senate Democratic cohorts. â—¾Alaska, Mark Begich â—¾Arkansas, Mark Pryor â—¾Louisiana, Mary Landrieu â—¾Michigan, Open Seat (liberal Democrat Carl Levin retiring) â—¾Montana, John Walsh â—¾North Carolina, Kay Hagan â—¾South Dakota, being vacated by retiring Democrat Tim Johnson...

With control of the U.S. Senate up for grabs this November, a single seat may determine who has the majority. That’s why Republicans should find it disconcerting that two of their establishment lions have broken ranks and are backing Democratic candidates in competitive races. The latest apostate is former senator John Warner of Virginia, who announced this week he is backing incumbent Democratic senator Mark Warner for reelection. He is thus giving the back of his hand to former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, a former George W. Bush adviser, who has a decent shot at winning and is no wild-eyed...

<p>Former Republican Sen. John W. Warner on Monday endorsed his Democratic successor over a past national GOP chairman in the race for the U.S. Senate seat he held for 30 years.</p> <p>Warner told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that he is supporting Sen. Mark Warner, who is being challenged by Ed Gillespie in November's election. The Warners are not related.</p>

Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie has little to lose and much to gain from running against Mark Warner in Virginia's Senate race. ..Sure, Warner is an incredibly formidable opponent, certainly as strong as a Democrat in Virginia could possibly be. He has built a reputation as governor, and in the Senate, as a moderate and pragmatist. He is one of the handful of Democrats whom Republicans can go to when trying to forge a compromise, and he is one of the few Democrats equally at ease working across the aisle with Republicans. Virginia is also a very expensive state for...

He isn't giving GOP primary endorsements, but Tea Party leader Sen. Ted Cruz calls newly-minted Virginia Senate candidate Ed Gillespie a friend, and he blasted the Republican's opponent, Democratic Sen Mark Warner. The Texan told the Hill's Cameron Joseph: "I like Ed Gillespie, he is a friend of mine, he's a good man. That's ultimately a decision for the voters of Virginia." ...Cruz has vowed to stay out of GOP primaries. But their friendship is more than talk: Gillespie and his wife contributed Cruz's upstart campaign in 2012.

Republican political consultant and former White House aide Ed Gillespie announced his plan to run for U.S. Senate in Virginia Thursday morning. He will run against incumbent Mark Warner, a Democrat. Gillespie previously served as chairman of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's 2009 campaign and as a Republican National Committee chairman. He also co-founded government relations firm Quinn Gillespie and Associates. However, he faces a challenge of name recognition -- or lack thereof. "I don't think anybody in Virginia knows who Ed Gillespie is," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat representing Fairfax County. "I'll bet you if you check name...

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie made it official Wednesday, announcing in a web video that he will challenge Democratic Sen. Mark R. Warner of Virginia this year. Mr. Gillespie said in the video that he’s running for Senate “because the American Dream is being undermined by policies that move us away from constitutional principles of limited government and personal liberty." Virginia Republicans, hungry for a victory after being shut out of the top three statewide offices for the first time in more than two decades, are mobilizing quickly to target Mr. Warner, a popular first-term incumbent and former...

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is in a lot more trouble than it seems. Despite his ample war chest and approval ratings, only 50 percent of Virginians say Warner should get a second term. And independents, by a margin of 49 to 43 percent, say they would rather have someone new in Virginia’s Senate seat.Moreover, Warner will have to defend his deciding vote for Obamacare during a midterm election that will likely be driven by voter anger over Obamacare. Virginians upset about President Obama’s false promise that “If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan” will be...

The Republican National Committee began running ads in 40 media markets Tuesday mostly targeting incumbent senators who supported President Barack Obama’s health care program. Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, gave $2.5 million to help Democrats defend their majority in the Senate. The early action suggests Republicans see the president’s signature domestic achievement as their way to keep control of the House and perhaps win the Senate. With more than 300 days remaining before Election Day, both sides are looking to set the agenda before voters start paying attention. “Obamacare is going to be the issue in 2014,”...

The Republican National Committee unveiled a slew of new radio ads Tuesday targeting vulnerable Democratic senators and Senate hopefuls on Obamacare -- including in two races where major would-be Republican challengers have yet to join the race.The ads are set to air in 40 media markets nationwide, including in New Hampshire, where Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is seeking re-election, and Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is running for a second term. Neither seat had been seriously considered to be in play, but a prominent Republican is now weighing a bid in each race: former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in...

HOT SPRINGS, Va.—Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie is considering a run against Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) next year. “It’s a very winnable race,” the powerful GOP insider told POLITICO in a Saturday afternoon interview. Continue Reading Gillespie, who has never sought public office, floated the trial balloon at The Homestead resort, where about 500 activists and party leaders are gathered for a three-day annual meeting known as “The Advance.” (PHOTOS: Senators up for election in 2014) “It’s safe to say that there’s people talking about it here, and I’m listening to them,” he said, noting that nearly...

Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.) could be facing a tough reelection campaign next year, according to a Washington Free Beacon poll of Virginia voters conducted last week. Fifty percent of Virginians said that Warner should be reelected against a generic candidate; 45 percent saying they would elect someone new. By a 49 to 43 percent margin, Independents said they would rather have a different senator than stick with Warner. Regionally, Warner is over 50 percent only in Northern Virginia, while 63 percent of residents in Shenandoah favor the nameless, faceless new candidate. The poll suggests that President Barack Obama’s dropping...

In 2010 Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) took to YouTube and promised the people of Virginia that he was "not going to support a health care reform plan that's going to take away health care that you've got right now or a health plan that you like."

Virginia Republicans may have a strong candidate for the 2014 US Senate seat in Ken Cuccinelli. As reported in the Daily Caller, conservative writer and Congressional candidate Quin Hillyer gives voice to a movement to draft Ken to run against incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Warner. Yet it would be a problem for the 2013 campaigner Ken Cuccinelli to run for U.S. Senate, from what we saw in Ken's unsuccessful campaign for governor. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Ken Cuccinelli as a potential senator. Yet Ken will fail badly unless he fires his 2013 campaign strategists, consultants, and leaders,...

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander (R) Montana Senator Max Baucus (D) Alaska Senator Mark Begich (D) Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran (R) Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) Massachusetts Senator William "Mo" Cowan (D) Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi (R) Minnesota Senator Al Franken (DFL) South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R) North Carolina Senator Kay Hagan (D) Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns (R) South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D) Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) Kentucky...

Senate Democrats vented their frustrations over the faulty rollout of the Affordable Care Act in a meeting Thursday with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior officials. “There’s a lot of frustration, everywhere,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said after the meeting. McDonough tried to assure angry senators he is personally taking charge of the disparate federal offices in charge of implementing the massive law, which has been plagued by technical errors. “He gave us the impression that he’s taking charge of the different elements and cracking the whip. He said to let him know if we had...

The Talk Shows October 20th, 2013 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew; Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Mark Warner, D-Va. THIS WEEK (ABC): Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Cruz; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

... “Don’t screw it up,” Reid told [D.C. Mayor] Gray in front of the cameras, reminding him that Democrats want the government open and are on his side. Multiple local reporters asked Reid what he meant by that, but the majority leader was ushered away by his security detail and staff. Gray then got into a verbal exchange with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who took a disapproving tone with the mayor... Virginia Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner had to speak over the yelling protesters, whom Capitol police eventually tried to silence.

When Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) was asked on Wednesday whether he has read all 10,535 pages of final Obamacare that the administration has so for published in the Federal Register, he first gave a response that did not address the question. When Warner was asked the question a second time, he walked away without answering. …

A new political action committee is hoping to convince former Speaker of the House and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia next year. Draft Newt PAC insists Gingrich, now a host of CNN’s Crossfire, is Republicans’ best hope for retaking the Senate seat currently held by Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), who is vying for his second term. “We want a credible challenger to Mark Warner, and no one could do what Newt could do to fight—and win,” said Andrew Hemingway, a former staffer on Gingrich’s 2012 presidential campaign who is leading the Draft...