Mediaboss Marketing

The war hero. The star fundraiser. The popular governor. The toughened ex-senators.

These are the blue-chip recruits many Democrats believe are essential to winning back control of the U.S. Senate in 2016 after a midterm drubbing cost them their majority.

Less than four months after the painful losses, Democratic officials have begun charting a path back to Senate control that runs through more than half a dozen blue and purple states where the presidential campaign is expected to boost Democratic turnout. But even in that favorable terrain, the party faithful fear they could fall short if marquee challengers dont step forward, since their talent pool is shallow and they are trying to unseat a well-prepared group of Republican senators.

The bench is short, but the aces are strong, said Democratic donor John Morgan. He summed up the all-or-nothing outlook with another baseball analogy: All you need is a right-hander that throws 99 mph, and you dont need a bench.

Needing to gain four seats five if a Republican wins the White House to reclaim the majority, Democrats are under intense pressure to enlist top contenders. Since House Republicans hold their widest majority in decades and are early favorites to stay in power, the fight for the Senate stands to determine whether the next president will face a split Congress or one controlled completely by the GOP.

Candidates matter, said former Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell (D). The lesson of 2010 is that even in the wave election, where Republicans nominated candidates with flaws, they lost. So we cant just nominate anybody. Weve got to find really good candidates.

Interviews with more than a dozen state-based and national Democrats revealed an early wish list headlined by well-known former Ohio governor Ted Strickland; Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), a decorated Iraq war veteran who lost her legs during a combat mission; popular New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan; former senator Russell Feingold (Wis.), a liberal favorite; Rep. Patrick Murphy (Fla.), a talented fundraiser from a swing district; and former senator Kay Hagan (N.C.), who lost a close reelection race.

None have ruled themselves in or out. They will be closely watched in the coming months, with some Democrats already fretting about recruiting at a time when recent down-ballot losses have thinned the ranks of promising prospects.

Im worried, of course, said Peter Buttenwieser, a longtime Democratic donor. But on the other hand, I have confidence that when the time for the ballgame rolls around, we will have those kinds of people.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee officials declined to discuss which possible challengers the committee is looking at and dismissed suggestions that they cant win back the Senate without landing recruits who have run statewide before. Their message: Its early.

See more here:
Democrats seek star recruits to try to win back control of the Senate