The Cook Report’s Charlie Cook doesn’t think 2014 will be a repeat of 2010’s wave election that swept the Democrats out of the House.
But he also doesn’t think that will matter, claiming “Republicans don’t need a wave election” to take the Senate in November.
Cook spoke to MSNBC’s Luke Russert on Tuesday about the GOP’s chances in the upcoming midterm elections. “You said recently that this will be a non-wave election,” Russert began, asking if the political analyst still stood by that after recents polls showed Republican gains.
“Well, you know, sometimes this gets down to semantics and definitions,” Cook replied. “Republicans don’t need a wave election. If they win Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia — if you assume, I’ll use your phrase, in the bag — then, if they just get the three Democratic incumbents that are in deeply red states — Mark Begich in Alaska, Mark Pryor in Arkansas, Mary Landrieu in Louisiana — they can win just with red states, and no wave necessary.”
Cook later broke down the probability of a GOP Senate capture. “I would say over 60 [percent],” he said. “Democrats need some breaks. If they can hold onto Pryor, Landrieu, Begich — any one of those three — their odds go up.”