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The GOP's 2016 problem (senate races)
cnn.com ^ | 12/29/14 | Alexandra Jaffe

Posted on 12/30/2014 5:16:05 AM PST by cotton1706

The Republican establishment won big during this year's midterm elections, fending off far-right candidates in primary races who might have threatened the party's bid to retake full control of Congress.

2016 will be tougher.

GOP leaders will have to keep an eye on a wide-open presidential primary, along with internal party fights at the House, Senate and gubernatorial levels. That could spread the party thin and leave an opening for conservative activists to pluck off establishment leaders with greater ease, particularly in congressional races as much of the attention shifts to the battle for the White House.

Conservatives, smarting from their losses this cycle, are already getting organized for 2016. And they came out of this month's government spending fight furious that congressional Republicans produced no tangible response to President Barack Obama's immigration executive action and convinced that Republicans are still ceding issues to Democrats after the election.

Daniel Horowitz, a conservative strategist and editor of the site ConservativeReview.com, said that now that Republicans have control of Congress, "there's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide" for those who haven't kept their promises to the GOP base.

"You can only fool most of the people some of the time," he said. "Every capitulation [congressional Republicans] engage in, every primary they win by getting across the finish line and they don't do what they've promised — it becomes that much tougher for them to defend."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections
Lee (UT) - 2016 - 99% (Average) - 100% (CReview) - 96% (Heritage) - 100% (CFG) - 100% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)

Paul (KY) - 2016 - 96% (Average) - 95% (CReview) - 92% (Heritage) - 97% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)

Scott (SC) - 2016 - 92% (Average) - 86% (CReview) - 85% (Heritage) - 94% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)

Rubio (FL) - 2016 - 90% (Average) - 80% (CReview) - 81% (Heritage) - 91% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)

Johnson (WI) - 2016 - 88% (Average) - 73% (CReview) - 84% (Heritage) - 87% (CFG) - 96% (ACU) - 100% (FreedomWorks)

Crapo (ID) - 2016 - 84% (Average) - 78% (CReview) - 81% (Heritage) - 92% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 83% (FreedomWorks)

Toomey (PA) - 2016 - 80% (Average) - 66% (CReview) - 71% (Heritage) - 93% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 91% (FreedomWorks)

Lankford (OK) - 2016 - 78% (Average) - 76% (CReview) - 80% (Heritage) - 70% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 84% (FreedomWorks)

Shelby (AL) - 2016 - 76% (Average) - 66% (CReview) - 75% (Heritage) - 82% (CFG) - 76% (ACU) - 83% (FreedomWorks)

Barrasso (WY) - 2016 - 75% (Average) - 67% (CReview) - 72% (Heritage) - 85% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)

Vitter (LA) - 2016 - 75% (Average) - 76% (CReview) - 68% (Heritage) - 78% (CFG) - 79% (ACU) - 73% (FreedomWorks)

Thune (SD) - 2016 - 71% (Average) - 60% (CReview) - 60% (Heritage) - 80% (CFG) - 88% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)

Burr (NC) - 2016 - 69% (Average) - 55% (CReview) - 58% (Heritage) - 67% (CFG) - 84% (ACU) - 83% (FreedomWorks)

Moran (KS) - 2016 - 69% (Average) - 62% (CReview) - 65% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)

Coats (IN) - 2016 - 66% (Average) - 49% (CReview) - 61% (Heritage) - 75% (CFG) - 83% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)

Boozman (AR) - 2016 - 64% (Average) - 49% (CReview) - 68% (Heritage) - 70% (CFG) - 80% (ACU) - 55% (FreedomWorks)

Portman (OH) - 2016 - 63% (Average) - 56% (CReview) - 55% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 64% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)

McCain (AZ) - 2016 - 62% (Average) - 50% (CReview) - 52% (Heritage) - 71% (CFG) - 52% (ACU) - 83% (FreedomWorks)

Ayotte (NH) - 2016 - 59% (Average) - 44% (CReview) - 51% (Heritage) - 79% (CFG) - 68% (ACU) - 55% (FreedomWorks)

Blunt (MO) - 2016 - 58% (Average) - 35% (CReview) - 52% (Heritage) - 67% (CFG) - 71% (ACU) - 64% (FreedomWorks)

Isakson (GA) - 2016 - 55% (Average) - 44% (CReview) - 50% (Heritage) - 59% (CFG) - 54% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)

Hoeven (ND) - 2016 - 50% (Average) - 22% (CReview) - 42% (Heritage) - 58% (CFG) - 60% (ACU) - 67% (FreedomWorks)

Kirk (IL) - 2016 - 47% (Average) - 29% (CReview) - 39% (Heritage) - 74% (CFG) - 44% (ACU) - 50% (FreedomWorks)

Murkowski (AK) - 2016 - 31% (Average) - 22% (CReview) - 24% (Heritage) - 52% (CFG) - 38% (ACU) - 18% (FreedomWorks)

1 posted on 12/30/2014 5:16:06 AM PST by cotton1706
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To: cotton1706
Murkey is a looser.

Perhaps the Senate should concentrate on accomplishing some meaningful actions in the next 1.5 years rather than posturing for 2016 the whole time. The can is worn out from being kicked down the road.

2 posted on 12/30/2014 5:18:40 AM PST by Paladin2
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To: Paladin2

Let the Republican wing of Uniparty put Jeb up and they will put Harry back in power.


3 posted on 12/30/2014 5:33:41 AM PST by jmaroneps37 (Conservatism is truth. Liberalism is lies.)
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To: cotton1706
Conservatives, smarting from their losses this cycle

Yep... those losses by Tom Cotton (AR), Dan Sullivan (AK), Joni Ernst (IA), Bill Cassidy (LA), and Cory Gardner (CO) were utterly devastating.

Oh, wait...

4 posted on 12/30/2014 5:34:16 AM PST by ScottinVA (We either destroy ISIS there... or fight them here. Pick one, America.)
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To: cotton1706

Interesting. McCain is less RINO than I expected.


5 posted on 12/30/2014 6:14:04 AM PST by tellw
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To: cotton1706

Very helpful. Thank you cotton 1706!


6 posted on 12/30/2014 7:07:14 AM PST by drellberg
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To: Paladin2

We are hoping to primary Isakson in 2016 but the Dunwoody business crowd keeps him in office. He is the worst RINO ever.


7 posted on 12/30/2014 8:50:39 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: ScottinVA

You notice Cruz, Palin, everybody on our side are being very, very quiet? Something is up. Hopefully good TEA people from districts and states all over are being positioned to primary all the RINOs that just flipped the voting public the finger.

The day the new Congress convenes would be the perfect day for the new candidates to announce, with ads showing how the RINOs have voted recently despite being handed the biggest mandate in 40 years.


8 posted on 12/30/2014 9:01:50 AM PST by txhurl (Pence/Cruz 2016! Re-MAN America!)
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