Political Update: Catch the Offense and Defense of National Elections
by Andy Surabian
Political Director
Alaska
It has been a good week for Republicans in Alaska. The first bit of good news came when the NRA announced that they would not be endorsing the so-called “moderate democrat,” Mark Begich, in his reelection bid for the U.S. Senate. The influential group pointed to the freshman Senator’s votes in favor of gun-grabbing Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan as reasons for not backing Senator Begich’s reelection.
The other piece of good news came in the form of three new polls released in the last week that showed Senator Begich’s Republican challenger Dan Sullivan surging. While the race was considered Begich’s to lose only one short month ago, the incumbent has seen his numbers plummet in recent weeks as conservatives in the state have began to unify behind Sullivan as the GOP nominee. The three polls showed Sullivan’s lead over Begich to be between 4.5-6 points.
Arkansas
Tea Party Express endorsed Tom Cotton in his successful congressional run in 2012 and has stood strongly by him as he looks to takedown Senator Mark Pryor. Pryor has been a consistent ‘Yes’ vote for the Obama-Reid agenda since he was elected back in 2003. In recent weeks, we’ve been encouraged by independent polls that have shown Cotton’s lead expanded from 2-points to a solid 5-points.
Check out our Arkansas Senate Race Summary here.
Colorado
Throughout the past decade, Democrats have dominated the federal races in the “Mile High State.” In 2014, it seems as though Republicans have put the pieces in place to finally turn the tide. It was only six months ago when national strategists found a Senate GOP victory in Colorado to be nearly impossible. However, with President Obama’s dismal poll numbers in the state, Republican nominee for Senate, Rep. Cory Gardner is making a competitive run against incumbent Democrat Mark Udall.
After a summer that showed the two Senator’s running neck-and-neck, the conservative Gardner has begun to open up a lead over Udall. If Gardner can keep up this momentum, Republicans may experience their first U.S. Senate win in Colorado since Senator Wayne Allard was last elected over a decade ago.
Iowa
Over the weekend, the first debate between Democrat trial lawyer Bruce Braley and conservative State Senator and Iraq War Veteran Joni Ernst, took place at Simpson College in Iowa. With Braley sinking in the polls, his desperation was clear at the debate, and while he was aggressive, his attacks seemed to bounce right off the confident and composed Ernst. Most political observers came away from the debate believing that Ernst earned a clear and decisive victory over the fast-falling Braley.
North Carolina
While it has been a great week for Republican Senate candidates across the country, the one state where we have seen our Republican nominee slip is in North Carolina. Democrat incumbent Kay Hagan and her liberal allies have spent millions over the past year demonizing Republican candidate Thom Tillis. Complicating matters even more is the emergence of a libertarian candidate (Sean Haughs) in the race. Many consider Haughs to be a potential spoiler and someone that could allow liberal Hagan to squeak out a victory.
Luckily even with all of this stacked against him Tillis has managed to stay afloat in the polls. It will come down to his ability and effort in turning out skeptical conservatives and independents alike.