Free Republic

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - There were no major Tea Party victories in Indiana in last week's election. Could that change in 2012? Tea Party members have targeted GOP Senator Richard Lugar and here are a couple of things to consider...

Now that the Tea-nami has swept through the House of Representatives, the activists in the Tea Party are already looking at 2012. Democrats will be especially vulnerable in that cycle, as they have to defend 23 seats while Republicans only have to defend 10. Most see the dynamic of 2012 as a return of the Senate to GOP control, especially if the economy continues to stagnate for another year, as most economists predict. But as Shira Toeplitz reminds us at Politico, Democrats aren’t the only members of the Class of 2006 looking over their shoulders: Another bloody Republican Senate primary...

Republicans last week painted the country's northeastern corner red last week, grabbing control of the state House, Senate and governor's mansion in Maine for the first time in more than four decades in a stunning electoral sweep. But the GOP wins might be worrisome news for the state's GOP senior senator, opening up the possibility of a 2012 primary challenge to moderate three-term Sen. Olympia J. Snowe now that state voters have shown that a fiscal conservative can win in a statewide contest. "There is going to be a primary, and she is going to have at least one 'tea...

Another bloody Republican Senate primary election season is taking shape for 2012, with potentially serious intra-party challenges percolating in close to a half-dozen states. Polls indicate that at least two veteran GOP senators are highly vulnerable to challenges on their right flank — Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe – and there are rumblings about potential GOP bids against Nevada Sen. John Ensign, Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar as well. On the whole, the 2012 map looks extremely promising for the GOP. After posting a six-seat gain in 2010, Republicans are in...

Nebraska Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson, says he plans to seek re-election in 2012. The Nebraska Republican Party Tuesday released a poll suggesting it could be a tough race for the Senator.

WASHINGTON — Florida Republicans walked away from last Tuesday's election in control of every major statewide office save one — the U.S. Senate seat of Democrat Bill Nelson. And if the GOP gets its way, that final stronghold will fall when Nelson runs for re-election in 2012. Several Republicans have hinted that they might challenge the two-term senator, including incoming state Senate President Mike Haridopolos of Merritt Island and U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, whose temporary appointment ends in January when senator-elect Marco Rubio is sworn in. .... Beyond LeMieux and Haridopolos, other potential GOP candidates include U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan...

She wasn't on the ballot last week, but Tuesday was a bad night for Sen. Olympia Snowe. With conservative insurgents taking on GOP incumbents across the country, Snowe is a prime target for a Tea Party challenge in 2012. To fend off such a challenge, Snowe might have pointed to the failed candidacy of Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and warned Tea Party activists that if they want to hand a Republican seat to the Democrats the best way to do it would be to replace her on the ballot. But that argument lost some of its currency when Tea Party...

Democrats have many more seats to defend (23-10), but several GOP moderates may be exposed to primary challenges. The 2010 election campaign is over, but 2012 is nearly upon us. Within weeks, we will know the candidates for president, and within months, preparations will begin for the 2012 Senate races. Which Senate seats are likely to be in play? Some of this will depend on how the next Congress shakes out, as well as what retirements occur, but several senators are already in danger.Republican in danger of general election loss: Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) shocked the political world by winning...

LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman dropped a post-election bombshell on Thursday, saying he was forgoing a run for U.S. Senate in 2012. Advertising “The Senate's not my cup of tea,” said Heineman, who was re-elected Tuesday by a landslide to a final four-year term. “I have the best job in America. Why would I give that up?” Heineman said at a press conference. The decision by the 62-year-old Republican set off a scramble among potential GOP replacements. ... Attorney General Jon Bruning jumped to the front of the line, announcing shortly after Heineman's decision that he would hold a State...

In the words of a prominent Missouri Republican, Claire McCaskill is the new glittery object. Actually, her U.S. Senate seat is. The Republicans are mesmerized by it. They covet it. Who will get the chance to try to take it? Let's preview the Republican fight for the 2012 senatorial nomination. We should start with the Big Two — Ann Wagner and Jim Talent. ... Now let's get to some of the other names that are being bandied about. Sam Graves is the congressman in Missouri's 6th District, in the northwest part of the state. The district includes part of Kansas...

For the first time in two cycles, Democrats will have more seats up for grabs than the Republicans, and the party could see its shrunken majority erased altogether. Several of the senators up for reelection came in on the 2006 Democratic wave, when the party picked up six GOP seats and won control of the chamber. Sens. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) defeated GOP incumbents that year but will have to win reelection in 2012. And two senators who won special elections Tuesday, Joe Manchin...

Senate Democrats could face an even greater challenge two years from now when they must defend numerous seats in swing states, albeit with President Obama on the ballot...[see the graphic]

2012 Senate Forecasts—The First Look Dateline: Day after election 2010 By: RobFromGa Since the 2010 Senate races are now almost all decided (only WA and AK remain), it is time to look forward to the 2012 Senate Races where the Dems are going to have a tough slate to defend. The Dems need to defend 21 seats to only 10 for the GOP (there are two independents as well-- Lieberman and Sanders who both caucus with the Dems so the Dem caucus is actually defending 23 to only 10 for the GOP) Some history about the 2006 Midterms for...