Wave of Senate retirements puts GOP ranks on defense

[DonViejo]

BY JULIA MANCHESTER AND MAX GREENWOOD - 03/10/21 06:00 AM EST

Republican hopes of winning back the Senate majority in next year’s midterms are increasingly being challenged by a wave of retirements.

Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.) on Monday became the fifth GOP incumbent to announce he won’t seek reelection in 2022. Blunt’s seat is relatively safe for Republicans, but the two-term senator’s retirement creates yet another line of defense for the GOP as it seeks to defend open seats created by Republican retirements in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Alabama. In all, Republicans are defending 20 seats compared with Democrats’ 14.

That creates plenty of openings for Democrats to add to their majority even in a midterm election, when the president’s party typically loses seats.

To be sure, Republicans appear more likely than not to keep the open seats in Alabama and Missouri, a former battleground that has shifted sharply to the right in recent years. Even Ohio, a longtime swing state, will pose a challenge for Democrats. Former President Trump won the state comfortably in both 2016 and 2020, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) stands as the last-remaining Democrat elected to statewide office.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/542447-wave-of-senate-retirements-puts-gop-ranks-on-defense

[True Blue American]

1. If Tim Ryan runs

I would not count him out. He is popular in Ohio.. His outburst at foolish Republicans yesterday did not hurt at all!