Although we've just completed a very important midterm election, and all eyes are already pointing toward the Presidential contest in 2008 with names like Baye, Clinton, Guiliani, McCane, Vilsack, Brownback, Hunter, and Obama being batted about already. There is another election that deserves some early scrutiny. It will be the election for 33 US senators from the Class of 2002, the Class II senators. This was a class of senators that took the senate for the Republicans 4 years ago. They road in on the coattails of Bush exuberance and in 2008 they will likely face a report card based on presidential failure and huberice.
Who are they?
Republicans
Alexander, Lamar
Allard, Wayne
Chambliss, Saxby
Cochran, Thad
Coleman, Norm
Collins, Susan
Cornyn, John
Craig, Larry
Dole, Elizabeth
Domenici, Pete
Enzi, Michael
Graham, Lindsey
Hagel, Chuck
Inhofe, James
McConnell, Mitch
Roberts, Pat
Sessions, Jeff
Smith, Gordon
Stevens, Ted
Sununu, John
Warner, John
Democrats
Baucus, Max
Biden, Joseph
Durbin, Richard
Harkin, Tom
Johnson, Tim
Kerry, John
Landrieu, Mary
Lautenberg, Frank
Levin, Carl
Pryor, Mark
Reed, Jack
Rockefeller, John
Of the Democrats the 2002 squeakers were: Johnson - SD, Bacus - MT, and Landrieu - LA. The Republican wave riders were: Chambliss - GA, Cornyn - TX, and Sununu - NH. Other freshmen included: Lindsay - SC, Coleman - MN, Dole - NC, and Alexander - TN. It was not a great year for minorities: ZERO were elected, or women: 3 were elected (1 Dem/2 Rep).
By Senate standards, it's a low seniority class, with little legislative action to stand on, and a majority of Republicans who have to find a way to walk away from the present administration's record. It's a democrat strategist's dream. Let's hope someone's dreaming out there!
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2 comments:
What Democrats must do is recruit solid, attractive candidates to go up against the incumbents. They're not going to win with unknowns or token opposition.
I agree. And I also think that they must NOT be afraid to think outside of the box in an election that will likely be about judgment on the satus quo with Bush as their poster child. So Unknowns don't freighten me now...there are two years to make them Knowns. I would be honing in on candidates in Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Wyoming based on state trends, and in Texas and Georgia based on the incumbent's records.
I would also be shoring up the work of Max Baucus - MT, Tim Johnson - SD, Mary Landrieu - LA and thank the Heavens that the rest of the class II senators are such heavy hitters for the Dems: Biden, Durbin, Harkin, Kerry, Levin, and Rockefeller, por exemplo.
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