"With 14 seats in play on the Democratic side and a couple of seats in play potentially on the Republican side, I think it's highly likely that Republicans pick up the majority,” he said on "Fox News Sunday."
Rove identified seven potential pickup opportunities for the GOP in West Virginia, South Dakota and Montana, where Democratic senators are retiring, and in Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, where Democratic incumbents face serious challenges. The Republicans need a net gain of six seats to retake the Senate.
He dismissed worries that tea party candidates might cost the GOP winnable races, as in 2012, when Republican Senate hopeful Todd Akin's numbers tanked after he said victims of "legitimate rape" rarely become pregnant.
"I think it's going very well. First of all, it's not about beating the tea party candidate, it's about keeping us from having Todd Akins," Rove said, adding, "So we've got to avoid situations like that, and if you take a look at the Republican candidates ... we have a very good cast of characters that are running."
Fourteen Democratic seats aren't "in play" first of all. The number is really the seven he listed there, and Republicans would have to effectively run the table. Remember, in 2012 the Democrats were "doomed to lose the Senate" and ended up gaining seats because of how awful their individual Tea Party candidates were.
The simple fact of the matter is if Democrats show up to the polls, we win. If we stay home like in 2010, the Republicans will. Period. Senate races are 100% about turnout.
OK. Let's have a test case. Close one school and see how it works out, 'k?
ReplyDeleteLet's start with Ohio State University, a nest of "soshilust!" vipers if there ever was one.