Democrats will expand their Senate majority in 2022

[DonViejo]

BY KEVIN WALLING, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 02/01/21 08:30 AM EST

Kevin Walling (@kevinpwalling) is a Truman National Security Project Partner, Democratic strategist, Vice President at HGCreative, co-founder of Celtic Strategies, and a regular guest on Fox News, Fox Business and Bloomberg TV and Radio.

With the announcement last week that U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) will forgo seeking a third term representing the Buckeye State, Democrats are increasingly bullish about expanding their slim majority in the midterm elections. Portman won big in 2016, and as Punchbowl DC reports, “this was a shock to the Senate… and Portman had said publicly as recently as December that he was running, so this is a real surprise.”

Sen. Portman joins a growing list of incumbent GOP members eyeing the exit in 2022, including Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) As the Punchbowl writers note, “Ohio has gone red in the last two presidential elections by substantial margins, but Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown won reelection here handily in 2018. So a Democrat with the right message can win, as long as the national political environment isn’t too bad in 2022.”

Back in 2006, then-Rep. Sherrod Brown defeated the GOP incumbent, Sen. Mike DeWine by more than 12 points and won a third term in 2018 easily dispatching GOP challenger Jim Renacci by nearly seven points. At the time, Vox declared Brown’s victory as “old-time labor liberalism triumphing over Ohio’s rightward drift.” Despite that “rightward drift” and President Trump carrying Ohio by eight points, Democrats in the mold of Brown have a real shot of taking back Portman’s seat in two years.

Buckeye Democrats are also bullish about their chances given the budding ideological civil war happening on the ground between Trump loyalists like Reps. Jim Jordan, Steve Stivers and Mike Turner and more establishment choices like Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and Secretary of State Frank LaRose. As CNN notes, “the most significant divide in Republicans seeking the job will be between the state's congressional delegation and the statewide elected officials.” Depending on who eventually wins the GOP primary, it will be an uphill battle to unite all elements of the Ohio GOP.

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https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/536718-democrats-will-expand-their-senate-majority-in-2022

[Cicada]

1. I worry about losing the House

[Cobalt Violet]

2. same.

I think the Dems are smart to go big and fast while they can.

[Thekaspervote]

4. Same, it's not a done deal. Just had an idea for a good midterm slogan keep the house blue in '22

Biden knows his entire presidency will be judged by his ability to change the course of the pandemic and get the economy back on track...they are going full speed ahead. A popular president has a much better chance of keeping the house

Republicans are leaving in droves over their disgust not only with dotard, but with the congress and senate that looked the other way on 1/6

Gerrymandering yes, Marc Elias the attorney that worked all the election cases has publicly said they will not stand by while the gop come up with totally unfair illegal election laws and maps.

The midterms have already started and we have candidates that are going after the likes of boebert and others...it’s up to us to keep the house blue in ‘22

[FM123]

3. I would love it if that expansion could spill over into TX

Wouldn't it be great if Beto or Julian could take the senate seat away from that smarmy piece of garbage Ted Cruz!