Republicans' 2006 Senate prospects sour [View All]

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http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Campaign/100505.html

Republicans' 2006 Senate prospects sour

This is not how Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) hoped things would turn out.

High-profile candidates she hoped could defeat incumbent Democrats are shying away from 2006, and some of her own Republican colleagues are looking vulnerable.

On Monday, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) bowed out of a race next year against Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.). Late last week, Gov. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said he wouldn’t challenge Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) next year.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which Dole chairs, has failed to recruit candidates it considers top-tier in Michigan, Florida and Vermont; no one is challenging Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.); and Republicans are embroiled in primaries in Nebraska and Rhode Island.