NRSC, DSCC have different takes on NM
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman, U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada, signaled some doubts about the Republicans' ability to retain the open New Mexico Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici.
From The Wall Street Journal blog:
Asked if the NRSC was mulling walking away from these two races to focus resources elsewhere, Ensign was non-committal, but added, “You don’t waste money on races that don’t need it or you can’t win.” Ensign identified the 10 most competitive races in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia. Two — Virginia and New Mexico — are heavily favored at this point to flip to Democratic control.
The NRSC has become increasingly cash-strapped in comparison to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). According to estimates, the DSCC had more than $37,500,000 cash on hand, while the NRSC had half that, $19,400,000 cash on hand as of the end of April.
Steve Pearce, the Republican nominee, can take solace in the fact that the NRSC could take a chance on the New Mexico race, owing to the relatively cheap media market in the state.
When Pearce won the primary election on June 3 over Heather Wilson, the NRSC issued a press release that included this quote:
"I congratulate Steve Pearce on winning the Republican nomination for Senate in New Mexico. Rep. Heather Wilson ran a strong campaign and contributed to the sincere choice Mew [sic] Mexico voters had on Election Day," Ensign said. "With a record of consistently voting a liberal position, Democrat Tom Udall will face a battle-tested, proven candidate in Steve Pearce. I am confident that he will be able to out-campaign Tom Udall in New Mexico. I look forward to working with Steve Pearce in the lead-up to November."
Udall was unopposed in the Democratic Senate primary.
Ensign's counterpart, Chuck Schumer, was, on the other hand,looking confident. Schumer spoke to Roll Call reporter Erin P. Billings in a subscription-only article.
Democrats believe they have a shot at winning as many as 11 GOP-controlled Senate seats this fall, with Schumer predicting the best shot at five - Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Colorado and Alaska. Schumer cited Minnesota, Oregon and North Carolina as the next group of states for possible Democratic pickups, and three longer shots in the states of Mississippi, Maine and Kentucky, the latter of which is home to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"That's just where the snapshot is now," Schumer explained. The Washington Post ranked the seat second most likely to flip, saying, "Rep. Steve Pearce's victory over Rep. Heather Wilson in the Republican primary earlier this month improves Rep. Tom Udall's (D) chances of winning this open seat in the fall."
Sen. Ensign earlier this week raised eyebrows with an interview in The Savannah Morning News, where he redefined what success would be for the Republicans in the Senate this year.
"With 41 votes in the U.S. Senate, you can (1) block bad legislation, and (2) you can make the majority respect the minority's rights. And you can help craft good legislation," Ensign said. "If the Democrats were able to get to 60 votes -- literally even if they get to 57-58 votes because they always seem to pick off a couple or three Republicans on a lot of votes --and if they win the White House ... they will be able to do pretty much whatever they want."
It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture, which would override a filibuster. This ensures no Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-type filibusters take up valuable Senate floor time.
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