By stocking his Cabinet with some of the Democratic Party’s top political prospects, President Barack Obama has created a number of opportunities for Republicans ahead of the 2010 elections.
In some states, the president stole his party’s strongest Senate prospects. In Illinois and New York, he watched as governors there botched efforts to fill vacated Senate seats, turning those solidly Democratic states into potential battlegrounds.
At this point, few analysts see a serious threat to the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate (although much will depend on the state of the economy then). If anything, handicappers say, the party figures to gain a few more Senate seats, after picking up 14 in the last two elections.
“Looking at the map overall, it’s not good for Republicans,” said Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “It’s just a little bit less bad because of some of (Obama’s) appointments.”
Brian Walsh, a spokesman for the GOP’s senatorial campaign committee, acknowledged “another challenging election cycle” for the party, with Republicans having to defend 19 of 36 Senate seats, including three in battleground states — Florida, Ohio and Missouri — where incumbents are retiring. But, Walsh added, with Obama’s Cabinet selections, “a number of opportunities exist” now.
Democratic strategists agree. Start with Arizona. Obama’s selection of Gov. Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security turned her office over to the Republican secretary of state, Jan Brewer. That gives Brewer an edge to win a full term as governor and almost certainly ends the chances for a 2010 Senate race that Democrats would love to have seen: Napolitano versus John McCain.
Another seat that appeared secure for Democrats might be up for grabs in Colorado after Ken Salazar left to become interior secretary. His replacement, Michael Bennet, is a political neophyte who could face a primary fight.
