ST. PAUL, Minn. — A bleak environment for House and Senate Republicans could be improved because of the presence of two appealing mavericks at the top of the ticket, according to two GOP leaders.
That was the analysis of the No. 3 member of the GOP Senate Leadership and the top House election strategist at today's briefing that the National Journal is cosponsoring with CUNA and other groups.
"If this were 2006 we'd be history," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee). "But they [voters] know that Bush is not going to be president. They want real change."
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He said there are "quite a few" of the open Senate seats that are in play this year that could go either way and if Sen. John McCain runs a good campaign that focuses on his ability to deliver change, some of those races could break for the GOP.
National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) said his party will be helped because many of their best opportunities for gains are in areas where McCain will do well–such as Kansas–where they have the chance to win two seats. He also said that the emergence of energy as an issue will help the party because its position in favor of more drilling for oil is a viable solution to the problem.
Neither Alexander nor Cole predicted that their party would recapture control of their respective chamber in this November's election.
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