As I’ve mentioned or hinted a few times, I think the mix of the Garland stalemate and Donald Trump or Ted Cruz at the top of the critic will lead to big Republican losses in the Senate. Big is relative – but enough to push the chamber into the Democrats’ hands in 2017. We’re now seeing the first signs of vulnerable GOP senators saying they’re going to be too busy to make it to Cleveland for the convention in July.
New Hampshire’s Kelly Ayotte says she’s “got a lot of work to do in New Hampshire, I have my own re-election and I’m going to be focusing on my voters in New Hampshire.”
It is notable that Sen. Claire McCaskill decided she’d be a no-show at the Democrats convention in 2012. But remember, this was when she seemed almost certain to lose her election. It would be another couple months before Rep. Todd Akin upped and blew up his campaign over “legitimate rape.”
