When asked about the possible presidential candidacy of her second son, Jeb, Barbara Bush was blunt: “We’ve had enough of Bushes,” she said. If the Democrats want to maintain their 55-45 majority in the Senate in the coming midterm elections, they will have to hope that the voters have not soured on their own local dynasties. Despite their significant edge in the chamber, the 2014 Senate map is full of opportunities for the Republicans. Retiring Democrats in Montana, West Virginia, and South Dakota leave three seats open in conservative states. Vulnerable Democrats hold office in four more states won by Mitt Romney in 2012: Sens. Mark Begich (Alaska), Mark Pryor (Arkansas), Mary Landrieu (Louisiana), and Kay Hagan (North Carolina).
Of the four incumbents, three are hoping to distance themselves from national Democrats by relying on their families’ long-standing ties in their respective states. Mr. Begich is the son of Nick Begich, who served as Alaska’s at-large representative until his death in a 1972 plane crash. Between Mr. Pryor and his father, Gov./Sen. David Pryor, the Pryor family has held statewide office in Arkansas for all but two of the past forty years. And Ms. Landrieu’s father, Moon, served as the mayor of New Orleans from 1970-’78, a position now held by her brother, Mitch.
All three have sought to leverage their family history to connect in states that have trended Republican in recent years. Mr. Pryor put it simply: “I am my father’s son. Everybody knows that.” In his first campaign in 2008, supporters often approach Mr. Begich with the simple statement, “I knew your father.” And Ms. Landrieu more subtly invoked her family’s deep roots in Louisiana politics by saying, “I think it’s in my DNA. I come from a family that feels very passionately and very strongly about public service and … representing the people.”
But Senate Democrats are not just relying on political dynasties to shore up vulnerable incumbents. They hope to broaden the playing field by attacking Republican-held seats with young heirs to Democratic dynasties in Kentucky and Georgia. In Georgia, where Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss is retiring, Democrats are fielding nonprofit executive Michelle Nunn, the daughter of longtime Senator Sam Nunn, in her first attempt at elected office. Despite being a Democrat in a red state, polls have shown Ms. Nunn to be competitive with her likely opponents. A poll conducted by PPP after her candidacy was announced gave her a 20%/19% favorable/unfavorable spread, with over 60% unable to state an opinion. In spite of her relative anonymity, she polled evenly with two possible opponents and ahead of the other five; her father, whose favorability was a strong 56/12 (and an even stronger 64/7 among independents), seems to be the reason. In Kentucky, Democrats have nominated state attorney general Alison Lundergan Grimes, daughter of former state party chairman Jerry Lundergan, to challenge Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. With Mr. Lundergan’s deep connections in Kentucky politics, national Democrats see Ms. Grimes as having a unique opportunity to challenge Mr. McConnell, whose deep personal unpopularity in Kentucky is matched only by the strength of his political operation.
Whether these attempts will backfire is still unclear. When U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson, son of retiring Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) floated the possibility of running for the seat (which he has since opted against), NRSC spokesman Brad Dayspring derisively said that Mr. Johnson had “never had a job that his daddy didn’t get him.” Both Ms. Nunn and Ms. Grimes have also received criticism that their résumés are shallow and their support is grounded in the legacies of their fathers. Whether, as Mr. Dayspring argued with respect to Ms. Nunn, “it takes more than family ties to get elected to the Senate,” we shall have to wait and see. But at the very least, she won’t be the only legacy on the ballot: to challenge Republican Governor Nathan Deal, Georgia Democrats are touting State Sen. Jason Carter, grandson of a US president by the name of Jimmy.