The 2018 Senate Map Looks Great For The GOP, But They Need Recruits First
By Jason Hopkins | July 7, 2017, 02:14pm | @thejasonhopkins The 2018 Senate map is a beautiful sight for the Republican Party. The GOP will be defending only a few seats while Democrats will be forced to play defense in many more states. A quick breakdown: 33 Senate seats will be in play. Only eight of those seats are in GOP hands. This means Democrats will be defending 25 seats this upcoming election cycle (two are independents who caucus with the Democrats). Of those 25 – 10 are in states recently won by President Trump.
It will be a year of offense for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Republicans could potentially win eight seats and a filibuster-proof majority. But Politico is reporting that the NRSC is struggling to find top quality recruits. While many states are in play, we are looking at a few specifically that have a high chance of flipping: Missouri, Montana, Florida, North Dakota and Indiana.
We were all a little disheartened when Rep. Ann Wagner decided not to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill. Wagner’s background would’ve been a superb match up against McCaskill – a Democrat who is too liberal for the state she represents. Wagner’s bowing out was a shock to most – she had hired a campaign manager in preparation for a run. GOP leaders are now looking at Missouri attorney general Josh Hawley as their top recruit. Hawley is a force to be reckoned with – this is the guy who argued the Hobby Lobby case to the Supreme Court. (I still think Austin Petersen is someone to keep an eye on.)
Montana is an interesting state. The Treasure State continually votes Republican at the presidential level, but residents here have no problem voting Democrat at the local and statewide level. Trump won here, as did Greg Gianforte very recently amid that crazy special election. Sen. Jon Tester (D) has won twice here, but by thin margins. The right recruit could finally send him packing. Republicans were hoping that guy would be former Rep. Ryan Zinke, but he decided to take a job in the Trump administration. Tim Fox, the state attorney general, has opted not to run for the senate seat, instead looking ahead for a gubernatorial run. This leaves the top GOP contender to be state Treasurer Matt Rosendale.
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http://theresurgent.com/the-2018-senate-map-looks-great-for-the-gop-but-they-need-recruits-first/
