Tougher road ahead for Senate Dems
By: Shira Toeplitz
October 28, 2010 04:37 AM EDT
If Senate Democrats think 2010 is a tough cycle, just wait two more years.
Theyll probably hold the Senate majority Tuesday with a couple of seats to spare, most analysts believe. But 2012 is a different story.
By then, Republicans will be poised to take control of the Senate with pickup possibilities scattered across the map and a much narrower base of their own to defend.
Its not simply the lopsided mathematics with at least 21 Democratic seats on the table in 2012, including two independents who sit with the Democrats, compared with 10 Republicans. Its where the seats are located.
Start with Democratic seats in three states where President Barack Obama lost in 2008: Nebraska, North Dakota and Montana.
Then go down a list of where Democrats are poised to lose Senate battles this year Ohio, Florida and Missouri, for example and Democrats will be right back at it in 2012, defending seats there again.
Throw in some bona fide tossup states Virginia and New Mexico and its pretty hard not to picture Republicans picking off the handful of seats needed to take control, if Tuesday goes as well for the GOP as experts expect...