Ensign: Senate Republicans could stay at 49 seats

Senate Republicans’ campaign chief said Wednesday that he’s more optimistic now than he has been at any point in the cycle, and that it's possible they could play Democrats to a draw in November. 

{mosads}Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), pointed to the momentum created by Republican support for oil drilling and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

“I feel better than I did at any time in the past,” Ensign said. “I used to say that it would be a pretty darn good night if we only lost four seats.

“I think it’s possible for us to hold where we are or even just lose one or two seats.”

Ensign has in the past been candid about his sour outlook on the 2008 election, so Wednesday’s comments represented a marked shift.

He even said that his colleagues have begun to step up to the plate with their contributions.

Just last month, Ensign was forced to shrink the NRSC’s budget when his colleagues didn’t respond to his call for them to pony up.

He announced that the committee raised $5.1 million in August and said it is on pace to have $12-13 million more to spend on races than it had in the 2006 cycle.