Pensions shake 2022 map as Republican senators pop out of sight

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Three Republican senators have already decided to retire in 2022, including Ohio Senator Rob Portman, whose announcement on Monday stunned colleagues and sparked an all-out scramble from both parties to field candidates for the seat crucial.

But in interviews with CNN, several other GOP senators avoided questions about their political futures or made it clear that they were really undecided about running again, including Senator John Thune of South Dakota, Ron Johnson of the Wisconsin, Chuck Grassley from Iowa and Richard Shelby from Alabama. .

Thune, 60, said he would make his announcement “at some point in the future” while brushing aside questions on his thinking. Johnson, 65, said he didn’t think he had to make up his mind “for a while”. Grassley, 87, said he would make his announcement in “several months”. Shelby, 86, said, “I’ll let you know.”

The ruling party typically wins seats in a president’s first midterm election, but Republicans will have to defend 20 of their Senate seats in 2022, while Democrats will only have to defend 14 seats.

And the retirements of Portman, North Carolina Senator Richard Burr and Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey have given Democrats greater hope of winning those seats and retaining their slim majority in the Senate. The Republicans’ decisions have sparked primaries that could cost millions and bruise anyone running as the party’s candidate against the Democrats.
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The three retirements were somewhat surprising as Portman, Burr and Toomey hover around the Senate average age of around 62. Yet they lamented the Senate as an increasingly divided institution without the will to break the partisan deadlock. As of now, no Democratic senator has decided to step down, although that could change quickly.

Johnson’s choice is the most crucial in terms of future control of the Senate, as his swing state went for Biden in 2020 by less than a point. The Wisconsin senator said he would “work hard” to “allow myself or someone else to keep this seat in Republicans’ hands.”

When asked why he would stay in the Senate, Johnson said he was “a firewall” against Democratic control of Washington.

“I’m not a fan of this place,” Johnson said of the Senate. “I think this place is horribly dysfunctional.”

Other Republican senators from competitive states appeared to be running again, although some would not say so explicitly.

Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Republican leadership, said he had not made “an official announcement.”

“When I do, that’s when the campaign will officially begin,” he added.

And as she entered the Senate subway at Capitol Hill, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski told CNN: “I’m running.” Utah Senator Mitt Romney then stepped in, “for now,” and smiled.

A number of other Deep Red State Senators did not announce their new campaign, but told CNN they intended to run, including GOP Sens. Mike Crapo of Idaho, John Hoeven from North Dakota, Jerry Moran from Kansas and John Boozman from Arkansas.

“I am running for the border first and for re-election second,” said Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.

While Republicans are unsure which of their members might be next to leave him, Portman’s decision has surprised many. “It’s a big loss, a big loss for the caucus, really for the country,” Thune said of Portman.

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The Ohio Republican also had a unique connection to his state, winning his last race in 2016 by 20 points against former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.

“I was surprised,” Portman, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, chairman of the Republican National Senate Committee, told CNN. When asked if the NRSC would be in the primary, Scott replied, “I don’t know. I know people have done it in the past, so we’ll see. It will be a new experience.”

Scott personally urged each of its incumbents to run again, but said Republicans would retain the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio.

“This is another race that we will fundraise and win for,” he said. “We are on the move. We talk to candidates, we recruit candidates, we raise funds.”

But Democrats said GOP retirements would be a boon to their chances of keeping the Senate.

“With Ohio now joining Pennsylvania and North Carolina as additional liability in a large battlefield state, Republicans face messy and confrontational primaries and a 2022 map that becomes increasingly difficult to defend, “Democratic Senate Campaign Committee spokesperson Stewart Boss said.

Future senators are now considering their options and looking for donors. In Pennsylvania, Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said he had raised more than $ 1 million in two weeks after announcing he would consider an offer. In North Carolina, former GOP Representative Mark Walker, and Democrats Jeff Jackson and Erica Smith, have already announced campaigns in the Senate, while others, including Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law Donald Trump, are considering launching theirs.
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Hours after Portman’s announcement, there was speculation that Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, a close ally and vocal advocate of Trump, would show up. Other potential GOP candidates include: JD Vance, author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” Josh Mandel, who dropped out of the 2018 GOP primary race to challenge Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, and Jon Husted, lieutenant governor of the ‘State. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose is also seriously hoping for a Senate nomination, along with at least four other Republican members of Congress: Rep. Steve Stivers, Brad Wenstrup, Mike Turner, and Warren Davidson. Rep. Tim Ryan is one of the Democrats who are brooding over a race.

The Senate is currently split 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris smashing the votes, giving Democrats control of the chamber.

Two of the most competitive Senate seats in 2022 could be in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, which are held by Republicans Toomey and Burr. But two new Democratic senators, Mark Kelly and Raphael Warnock, will have to defend seats in Arizona and Georgia, which have only recently tended to blue.

Republicans recognize that their jobs will be cut for them if more of their colleagues step down.

“It certainly creates more attention on recruiting candidates,” said Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican who runs for office in South Carolina next year. The retirements, he said, represent a “loss of institutional knowledge on our side that cannot be replaced”.

“But finding interesting, fascinating and exciting candidates will be our task,” said Scott.

CNN’s Aaron Pellish, Clare Foran and Jeff Zeleny contributed.

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