Politics

Top Republican says he sees ‘a path’ to Senate takeover

Jon Ward Contributor
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A top official at the Republican committee in charge of raising money for Senate candidates said Tuesday that a GOP takeover of the Senate is possible, indicating growing confidence on the right about the Nov. 2 elections.

“I think there’s a path,” said Rob Jesmer, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). “We would basically need to run the table but there’s a path there depending on how things shake out.”

Jesmer repeated a favorite line of the NRSC chairman, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, that a Republican takeover is likely a two-cycle task. But his admission that Republicans could pick up 10 seats in the Senate is the first sign that the party is allowing themselves to begin thinking aloud about the idea.

Jesmer made his comments at a “Mid-Term Cram Session” hosted by National Journal. His Democratic counterpart, J.B. Poersch of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, was on stage next to him. The directors at the Democrat and Republican committees for House candidates, Jon Vogel and Guy Harrison, also took part in the panel.

Click here to read TheDC’s analysis of key Senate races and what the GOP needs to do to get to 10.

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