The Republican party is expected to gain seats in both houses of Congress in the midterm elections of 2010, as it is traditional and normal for the party out of the White House to gain seats at the midpoint of the Presidential term.
But the GOP lost seven special elections for the House of Representatives since the election in 2008, including the seat held by the late John Murtha in Pennsylvania, where an aide to Murtha kept the seat in Democratic hands by a hefty margin! While they finally won the special election in Hawaii, in the district where President Obama was born, they only won 40 percent of the vote, with two Democrats in an open election dividing the other 60 percent, so it is expected that one of these Democrats in November will reclaim the traditional House Democratic seat for the next Congress.
Also, the Tea Party Movement is a true burden, as it can distort the GOP record and its stands on issues, as most Republicans are NOT libertarian or anarchistic! For instance, the nomination of Rand Paul for the Senate seat in Kentucky is causing private grief and discomfort for Mitch McConnell and main stream Republicans across the country, who don’t know quite how to react to Paul!
Other Tea Party favorites across the country also are expected to cause headaches for the Republicans, including Sue Lowden in Nevada, who is thought to be a “loose cannon”, who makes the likelihood of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid keeping his seat more of a likely scenario than thought just a few months ago!
Will the Republicans be able to gain the support of moderates and independents as conditions likely improve economically over the next five months, and with Barack Obama still keeping his personal popularity?
But on the other hand, when one considers that many people, who Obama campaigned for, have lost their gubernatorial races (Virginia, New Jersey) and Senate races (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), one has to also wonder does Barack Obama have coattails?
Obviously, there is a lot to think about and analyze and observe about the American political system over the next five months! 🙂