Mike Allen's morning newsletter.
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2014 -- 50-50 SENATE? - "Joe Biden, Senate tiebreaker?" by Edward-Isaac Dovere: "[W]ere the Senate to be divided straight down the middle, it would make Biden the ultimate tie-breaker - a dream come true for a guy who spent 36 years in the institution and a potential opportunity for a V.P. who hasn't ruled out running for president. 'He'd like two years of being the deciding vote, back in the cloakroom, in the Senate gym,' said former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Biden's longtime chief of staff and still a close friend. ...
"To hit a tie, Democrats would need a net loss of five seats, and most of them have already written off the seats in Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. That leaves two, and between the races they're facing in Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, Democrats say losing two seems a pretty safe bet. They're not counting on pickups in either Kentucky or Georgia, where their prospects are best. 'When you look at the map, it's totally feasible,' said a national Democratic strategist. ...
"Many, Reid included, remain unhappy with deals [Biden] reached with McConnell on the Bush tax cuts and others, and he was cut out of talks surrounding last year's government shutdown. ... There have been only 244 vice presidential tie-breakers in the entire history of the Senate. The last time the Senate was 50-50, after the 2000 elections, Dick Cheney only cast eight, including the one to give Republicans the majority." politi.co |
