Hello, and welcome to the Political Jungle for January 6, 2012. Today, we will be looking at the 2014 midterm elections for the Senate, and the potential repeal of the 22nd Amendment.
2014 midterm election, while also looking at the Hagel nomination.
A Political Jungle analysis of the 2008 Senate elections show that a few Democrats may be in danger in 2014, with the loss of the coattails. The most Democrat most likely in danger would appear to be Senator Al Franken, who had the closest Senate race in 2008. Senator Franken was elected in 2008 with a margin of just 312 votes. The race was so close that lawsuits and recounts made the race go into the summer of 2009. Senator Franken is already getting an advantage on his eventual opponent, tapping into the grassroots fundraising of other Senators. Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren have both sent emails to supporters, urging them to donate to Al Franken. The most vulnerable Senate seat held by Republicans is held by Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss. In his general election, he lead by only three percentage points. However, since no candidate reached a majority, there was a majority which Senator Chambliss won by double digits. The chart shown reflects general election votes. After Sen. Chambliss announced he was dropping his support for the anti-tax pledge, many conservative Republicans thought about a primary challenge to him. As we learned in Indiana, a conservative beating a moderate Senator does not always work out for the best. Democrats hope that they can take this seat blue.
Several Democratic sources are confirming reports that President Obama has chosen Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the Secretary of the Defense. Sources are also saying that the announcement will come on Monday, but that is not as sure. President Obama will also announce his choice to be CIA director at the same event, reportedly.
Reporting is now saying that the attempted coup in the House was bigger than expected. An informal group was started by House Republicans to oust Speaker Boehner. The group was reportedly led by Rep. Justin Amash, who was one of the Republicans booted from key committees. The ousted Republicans alleged that Speaker Boehner had a secret scorecard. The group had a self-made threshold of 25 members, which was more than needed to get the Speakership voting to a second ballot. However, roughly an hour before voting, the twenty-fifth member dropped out. The rest of the group was then allowed to vote however they pleased. The group had no select person to vote for, as potential candidates declined to take part. In the end, Speaker Boehner was re-elected, but with just two more votes than needed.
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