Retirements of Republican senators whose seats are up for election in 2022 are making the GOP's hope of regaining the majority in the upper chamber more complicated, even though they only need to pick up one seat to do so, Politico reported on Wednesday.
The increased concern about a wave of retirements is a result of the twin blows the GOP suffered when it unexpectedly lost the Senate majority in the Georgia runoffs earlier this month, followed the next day by the siege on the Capitol.
Two of the three most difficult GOP defensive states on the Senate map next year, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, are already open seats, after their Republican senators announced they won't run again.
The party was rocked some more earlier this week when Sen. Rob Portman surprised Republicans by announcing he won't seek a third term in Ohio.
Although the GOP will still be favored in Ohio, it will first have to contend with a crowded primary.
Many eyes in the party are now on Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, who is now the most vulnerable Republican up for reelection.
GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who ran his party's campaign arm in 2010 and 2012, said, "If they are going to retire, I think it's the right thing to do to do it early to give [others] a chance to get in," adding that "It's harder when you have open seats than when you have incumbents up, so I hope we don't have any more."
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Chris Hartline, however, claimed retirements won't harm the party, saying, "We are confident that we'll get strong candidates in all of these states, and they will present a clear alternative to the Democrats' radical agenda to fundamentally change America."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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