Competitive Senate races see candidates split on debt vote

There was a clear partisan split among Senate candidates in the vote to raise the debt ceiling: most Democrats supported the deal, while many Republicans opposed it.

The competing positions indicate the vote could become an issue in about a dozen competitive races next year, with Democrats arguing the nation could not afford a default and Republicans arguing the cuts didn’t go deep enough.

{mosads}Republicans only need a net gain of four seats — if President Obama wins reelection — to take control of the upper chamber.

Part of this voting pattern could be because most of the Democrats facing reelection are centrists without primary challengers and their support of the compromise debt bill could shore them up with Independents, while many Republicans who voted against the plan are wary of giving would-be primary opponents an opportunity to attack them from the right.

It could also be a reflection of their bases. A Pew/Washington Post survey conducted in early July found that two-thirds of Republican voters polled were concerned that raising the debt limit would lead to more government spending, while a majority of Democrats were concerned that not raising the ceiling would force a default and hurt the economy.

Democratic senators in competitive seats who backed the deal include Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich.).

Some of their possible competition voted differently.

Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), who’s running in the GOP primary to face McCaskill, voted against the bill, as did Tester challenger Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.).

Most House Democrats looking to move to the upper chamber also voted for the bill. They include Reps. Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Jim Matheson (Utah) and Shelley Berkley (Nev.).

On the other hand, Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) voted against the bill. Heller will probably face Berkley in the general election, which sets up a conflict there, while Hatch is likely to face a Tea Party challenge from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who also voted against the deal.

Should Heinrich win the Democratic primary in New Mexico, he will be able to contrast his position with that of his GOP competition — former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) announced Tuesday that she opposed the deal.

If Matheson runs in Utah, he will be on the opposite side of either Hatch or Chaffetz on the issue.

Also voting against the bill was Rep. Jeff Flake (Ariz.), who’s running for retiring Sen. Jon Kyl’s (R-Ariz.) seat. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) voted for the deal. She has not announced her 2012 plans, but many Democrats are holding out hope she will have recovered sufficiently from a January assassination attempt to run for the upper chamber.

Not all lawmakers followed their party’s pattern, however.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) broke with his leadership and voted against the deal, saying it set up “a maze of convoluted procedures that will only continue the chaos and political games Nebraskans are tired of seeing.” Nelson must win reelection in a deep-red state, and he is seeking to burnish his conservative bona fides.

Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who is considering a run for the Senate, also voted against the bill, although her reasoning tacked leftward; she said in a statement that taxes should have been raised on the wealthy and tax loopholes for corporations should have been closed.

{mosads}Republican Sens. Dick Lugar (Ind.) and Scott Brown (Mass.) backed the plan. Brown faces a situation that mirrors Nelson’s — he needs to win over Independents and Democrats to be reelected in the blue state.

Lugar, on the other hand, faces a tough primary fight against Indiana Secretary of State Richard Mourdock, who told The Hill after the vote that he would have voted no because it “did nothing but kick the can down the road for higher taxes.”

Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel (R), who’s running for the GOP nomination to face Sherrod Brown, said he would have voted against the deal.

Other Republican challengers had not taken a position on the deal as of press time, including former Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), who is challenging Stabenow.

Hoekstra has been dealing with a death in the family and has not been politically active the last few days.