When Louisiana Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu l
ost her re-election runoff on Saturday it put Barack Obama in the record books as the two-term president with the most midterm losses for his party.
The record previously was held by Harry Truman.
Truman's Democratic Party lost 74 seats in 1946 and 1950, while under Obama the Democrats have lost a total of 75 seats in 2010 and 2014. He could lose one more if Republican Martha McSally beats Democratic Rep. Ron Barber in Arizona in an election recount,
Breitbart News reports. McSally is currently ahead by only 200 votes.
Most presidents have one bad midterm and one that isn't as bad,
writes Roll Call's Stu Rothenberg.
George W. Bush actually gained seats in his first midterm, when the country was still reeling from the 9/11 attacks. And Bill Clinton gained seats in his second midterm after losing the House to Republicans four years earlier. But each suffered big losses in the other midterm during their presidencies.
Rothenberg said the partisanship of elections are partly to blame for Democratic losses, but so is Obama's failed leadership. Many in his base are believed to have stayed home because they didn't see Obama acting on things they care about, such as immigration reform.
Obama held off until after the elections to enact an executive order granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. And many, such as Landrieu, are believed to have gone down in defeat for having supported Obama's signature healthcare legislation, which has been losing popularity ever since its passage in 2010.
Breitbart notes that the GOP may face an uphill battle during the 2016 presidential election year. Republicans hold a 9-seat majority in the Senate, but 25 of their members face re-election in 2016.
Only 10 Democrats are up for re-election, and they are all from solidly blue states with strong fundraising ability.
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