Democrats Concerned They May Lose House in Elections, Senate a Possibility

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 26, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Democrats Concerned They May Lose House in Elections, Senate a Possibility

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 26
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — As the November midterm elections get closer, Democrats are reportedly privately worrying about their standing with the American people after passing a government-run health care bill with massive abortion funding and promoting taxpayer funding of abortions in other ways.

The current polls in individual House and Senate races make it so most political observers believe there is an outside chance pro-life advocates could retake the House — and possibly the Senate — from the pro-abortion stalwarts who currently control Congress.

In a top news story today, Politico interviews some Democratic leaders privately who confess they’re considerably worried.

“Democrats kept thinking: ‘We’re going to get better. We’re going to get well before the election,’” said one top party leader. “But as of this week, you now have people saying that Republicans are going to win the House. And now it’s starting to look like the Senate is going to be a lot closer than people thought.”

A Democratic pollster told Politico the House prospects look bad and are getting worse.

“The reality is that [the House majority] is probably gone," he said and added a comment about the bad news for many Democratic candidates. “It’s spreading."

But the public line from Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is that Democrats will hold the line on their pro-abortion majority.

“We have been saying for the past 18 months this will be a politically challenging environment,” he told Politico. “That being said, we will retain the majority in the House. All of what you are hearing is the inside-the-Beltway chatter.”

Republicans need to capture 39 seats in the House to take control of it from pro-abortion Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Senate is considered the more difficult of the two to retake from pro-abortion Senate Leader Harry Reid.

Currently, Rasmussen Reports, a respected polling firm with a good track record, sees the current projected results of 49 Democrats, 46 Republicans and 5 races in the tossup category that are too close to call.

"With three months to go, Rasmussen Reports polling shows that Republicans are poised to pick up Democratic-held Senate seats in three states— Arkansas, Indiana and North Dakota. Two others are leaning that way–Delaware and Pennsylvania," Rasmussen notes. "At the moment, no Republican-held seats appear headed for the Democratic column."

"Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln is the only incumbent senator left in these races who is currently projected to lose a seat. The others are open-seat races following retirements by Democratic incumbents, with the exception of Pennsylvania, where incumbent Arlen Specter was defeated in the state’s Democratic Primary," pollster Scott Rasmussen added.
Among the five Democratic seats in the Toss-Up category, two are open seat races (Colorado and Illinois). The Democratic incumbents in the Toss-Up category are Harry Reid of Nevada, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Barbara Boxer of California.

If Republicans split those races they are poised to edge closer to the 49 seats Rasmussen projects for the Democratic column.

That could have the Senate split with something like 51-49 divide narrowly favoring Democrats. While it would not allow a pro-life Republican to lead the chamber, it would allow the majority pro-life caucus to more easily stop President Barack Obama’s pro-abortion agenda and pro-abortion judicial nominees.

Although the pro-life movement will not be able to reassert its policy agenda fully until a pro-life president replaces Obama, capturing either the House or Senate — or at least coming close — should neutralize the Obama abortion agenda until the 2012 presidential elections.

 

Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com

Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report
Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.