I have not spent a lot of time studying the races yet, so input from the various states is welcome.
Oh, thank God for that!!! Note: This is NOT a ping to be on the list...
Either pick in Montana or Virginia shouldn’t be considered an error, since the races ended up essentially toss-ups, with the break going to the democrats. It reminded me of 2000, where we lost a bunch of seats very narrowly.
Good job, Rob. Thanks for the ping. I look forward to updates in the months to come. BTW, I think Cornyn,(R-TX) is safe.
The Senate in 2008 will be like the Senate in 2002, a real knock down drag out fight for control.
With Guiliani, the NJ seat comes into play. In a normal year, Kean would have won in 2006, and with Guiliani carrying the state, Kean will win in 2008.
An early indicator would be candidate recruitment. This will start, this year, in LA, where a win in the Governor’s race will encourage the GOP for next year’s Senate race there and elsewhere.
The next steps will be: AR, MT and SD, where the obvious candidates need to step up to the plate. In 2006, some of the obvious candidates stayed on the sidelines knowing how tough that year was going to be for us.
With a resumption of vigorous economic growth, the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq as we turn that country’s future over to the people of it, with Guiliani at the top of the ticket, and a complementary running mate such as Pawlenty or Thompson, and with strong candidates for the Senate seats that are in play, we’re talking of a return not only of Republican control, but a resumption of the Republican agenda that has gotten sidetracked during the past several years.
Thanks for the ping!