Senate GOPers meeting to form message strategy

Senate Republicans announced Tuesday they will hold a closed-door retreat next week to discuss what kind of message to take to voters as they head into a bleak election landscape.

The Jan. 23 retreat at the Library of Congress will mark the first time a meeting is convened by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). He was elected in December as the new chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, which spearheads the conference’s messaging and communications strategy.

{mosads}Alexander has said he wants the conference to craft a message aimed at attracting independents and conservatives. But he faces the challenge of bridging differences between diverse factions of the conference while appeasing those who want the GOP minority to take an increasingly confrontational approach to the Democratic majority as the elections draw near.

Twenty-three Republicans are facing reelection in November.

The meeting will allow Republicans to air their views on what direction the conference should take in the election year. Aides said Republicans plan to discuss new polling data on the public’s perception of key issues and lay out the best ways to reach out to voters.

Senate Democrats will hold a similar daylong retreat on Feb. 1 in Mount Vernon.