Politico.com: Shaken senators start prep for 2012, Bingaman weighing retirement

From the Politico.com - By MANU RAJU - The 2010 campaign has so rattled senators up for reelection in 2012 that they’re already moving quickly to figure out how to survive. Veteran Democrats such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico are weighing retirement. Establishment Republicans such as Orrin Hatch of Utah and Dick Lugar of Indiana are already moving to fend off potential primaries from the right. Freshmen like Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jon Tester of Montana are stepping up fundraising, and red-state Democrats like Claire McCaskill of Missouri are talking up their independence from the party. “Of course, I’m concerned about a primary, but I would think my rivals would be even more concerned if they actually look objectively at the facts,” Lugar said, citing what he said were strong poll numbers and a flush war chest. Some senators are hedging a bit, uncertain what the 2012 landscape will look like after a brutal 2010 for Democrats. The 62-year-old Conrad said he’s deciding “whether or not I want to do this another eight years.” Some senators realize they’re going to have to make the case that they’re independent of a party that got shellacked in 2010. Read more
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