Jay Weber Show transcript 3-13-25
Just when you thought the dems couldn’t sink any lower- Chuck Schumer and democrat senators got another kick to the crotch, yesterday.
Long-time New Hampshire senator Jean Shaheen verified that she is-not-running for re-election next fall.
Oof.
This is a state that has a tradition of sending republicans to Washington DC
And Shaheen has been considered an oddity as a democrat that’s gotten elected there.And yes, kamala Harris won that state last fall, but only by less than three points- a far smaller margin than Biden won it in 2020.
So- the belief is that this democrat senate seat is one that could be flipped- especially if former NH governor Chris Sununu runs.
And forget that he’s an occasional trump critic: this is a state that is going to require a more ‘reasonable sounding’ republican to appeal to most voters-and Sununu has been one of them. He won the governor’s chair there twice- before he was term-limited out.
And until this week- Sununu had been saying he had decided not to run against Shaheen or anyone else in 2026-for this seat. But now that she’s ‘out’ and it’s an open seat-
And-
Now that new polls show Sununu would be the early frontrunner- New Hampshire want him to do it-
Well- now he says he may reconsider.
And this is only ‘adding’ to the democrat’s problems.
As it was-they weren’t expected to retake control of the senate next year. Not even in a ‘good year’.
The republicans have a 53-47 majority...with only mitch McConnell’s seat open in Kentucky next fall. You’ve got to believe that a republican will win that deep red state-unless the Kentucky GOP voters screw up and select a pervert or a Klansmen in the primary.
And then there are two other GOP seats that could be in play. That’s it. And these are the people who just replaced Marco Rubio in Florida and JD Vance in Ohio. Those are both solidly red states that the GOP should keep.
Meanwhile- I’d point to at least three democrat seats that could be flipped. Shaheens in New Hampshire-
John Ossoff’s in Georgia- and Gary peter’s seat in Michigan. He’s not running again-and that’s kind of a purple state.
There’s one other open seat-in Minnesota- as tina smith retires- but it’s not likely that a republican will win a state-wide race in Minnesota.
But are-three? - democrat pickups a possibility? Even in an off-year election that’s historically supposed to be more fertile ground for democrats.
It also strikes me that some of these ancient lawmakers who we’ve been talking about ‘as ancient’ for years and years and years- are finally ‘aging out’.
They’ve finally hit the age in which they-just can’t go on, anymore. Like Mitch McConnell and Jean Shaheen and Nancy Pelosi and Al Green (the stick-shaker at Trump’s state of the union).
Some of these people are so old that they can’t mobilize anymore. They are being forced to quit due to health problems-
And really? This is just the beginning of the wave of ‘ancient boomers’ aging out of their seats.
1. Sen. Chuck grassley (r-ia.), 91
2. Sen. Bernie sanders (i-vt.), 83
3. Sen. Jim risch (r-idaho), 81
4. Sen. Ben cardin (d-md.), 81
5. Sen. Angus king (i-maine), 79
6. Senate majority whip dick durbin (d-ill.), 79
7. Sen. Richard blumenthal (d-conn.), 78
8. Sen. Ed markey (d-mass.), 77
9. Sen. Tom carper (d-del.), 77
10.Sen. Jeanne shaheen (d-n.h.), 77
11.Sen. Mitt romney (r-utah), 76
12.Sen. Peter welch (d-vt.), 76
13.Sen. Joe manchin (d-w. Va.), 76
14.Sen. Mazie hirono (d-hawaii), 76
Folks-Ten of the top 15 oldest US Senators are Democrats. That -also-doesn’t bode well for their chances over the next few election cycles.
photo credit: Getty Images
audio version of the segment here > Ten of the top 15 oldest US Senators are Democrats