Why Republicans are 'licking their chops' over the 2024 Senate map: report

25 January 2023

On Monday, January 23, liberal Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona officially announced that he is seeking the 2024 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat presently held by centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat turned independent who has yet to announce whether or not she will be running. The announcement was well-received by the Democratic Party’s liberal/progressive wing; Gallego’s campaign said it raised more than $1 million in a single day.

But some Democrats fear that if Gallego becomes the Democratic nominee and Sinema runs as an independent, that could divide the non-Republican vote in Arizona — a key swing state — and give a GOP nominee the advantage. And that isn’t the only U.S. Senate race that Democrats need to be concerned about in 2024, according to Axios reporter Josh Kraushaar.

In an article published on January 25, Kraushaar reports, “After last year's midterm fail, Republicans are licking their chops at an enviable outlook for snatching the Senate majority in '24. Why it matters: The four Senate tossup races are in red (West Virginia, Ohio, Montana) or swing (Arizona) states — part of a strongly GOP-favorable '24 Senate map.”

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Kraushaar notes, has emphasized that in 2024, three Democratic senators will be defending seats in states that former President Donald Trump won in 2020: Joe Manchin in West Virginia, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, and Jon Tester in Montana.

Manchin has not said whether or not he will seek reelection, but if he doesn’t run, that seat would be an uphill climb for Democrats, according to Kraushaar. Although the party’s liberal/progressive wing has often been critical of Manchin, he is a rare example of a Democrat who, in recent years, has been capable of winning a statewide race in deep red West Virginia.

Nor has Tester made an announcement, but Brown said he’s definitely running.

Kraushaar observes, “Ohio, a one-time battleground, is fast becoming Republican turf, with the GOP scoring a clean sweep in last year's midterms. But Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has an enviable brand as a labor-friendly Democrat who has won over blue-collar voters that drifted to Trump. He has already announced he's all-in for a tough campaign.”

Read Axios’ full story at this link.

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