Create the Democratic Dream Team!

[retromike22]

Congrats, you're Jon Tester, Chair of the Senatorial Campaign Committee!

Pick the best Democratic candidates for the 2016 Senate races to capture the most GOP-held seats.

You don't have to include every single Senate race, for example:

New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan
South Dakota: lol
Utah: Jim Matheson

[Maxwell]

Do you mean 2016?

Here's what I think the best Democratic candidates are for competitive 2016 seats -

Arizona - Rich Carmona
Florida - Gwen Graham
Georgia - John Barrow
Illinois - Cheri Bustos
Kentucky - Adam Edelen
New Hampshire - Ann Kuster
North Carolina - Janet Cowell
Ohio - John Boccieri
Pennsylvania - Probably Joe Sestak
Wisconsin - Chris Abele

[Miles]

NH: Hassan
PA: Sestak, I guess
OH: Tim Ryan
IN: Evan Bayh
KY: Beshear, other than him, Edelen or Luallen
IL: Bustos (would leave Madigan for Governor)
WI: Kind
IA: Vilsack (if open)
MO: Either of the Carnahans
AR: Beebe
LA: Mitch Landrieu
NC: Personally, Brad Miller, but Cowell if I wanted electability first.
SC: Vince Shaheen, I guess
GA: Nunn or Carter
FL: Murphy; Graham is good, but I'd like her to have >1 House terms.
OK: Brad Henry or Dan Boren
KS: Orman, Davis or Parkinson
AZ: Kirpatrick or Carmona
UT: Matheson
ID: Jana Jones
AK: Begich

[Panda Express]

Tom Wolf for all

[retromike22]

Do you mean 2016?

Fixed, thanks. I got used to typing in 2014 so many times lol

[Xing]

AK: Mark Begich (He probably wouldn't win a two-way race again Murkowski)
AZ: Ann Kirkpatrick
FL: Patrick Murphy
GA: John Barrow
IL: Cheri Bustos
IA: Tom Vilsack (He probably wouldn't win again Grassley)
KY: Adam Edelen
NH: Maggie Hassan
NC: Janet Cowell
OH: Michael Coleman
PA: Joe Sestak (For lack of a better option)
WI: Russ Feingold (I think he would rally the Democratic base in a way that Kind couldn't)

[JerryArkansas]

NH: Hassan
PA: Sestak
OH: Tim Ryan
IN: Evan Bayh
KY: Beshear
IL: Bustos
WI: Kind
IA: Vilsack
MO: Either of the Carnahans
AR: Beebe
LA: Mitch Landrieu
NC: Brad Miller
SC: Vince Shaheen, I guess
GA: Carter
FL: Murphy
OK: Dan Boren
KS: Davis
AZ: Kirpatrick
UT: Matheson
ID: Jana Jones
AK: Begich

In addition to each of these, I would buy ads for challengers in republican primary's who have a good chance of unseating the incumbent.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Alabama - No candidate
Alaska - Mark Begich
Arizona - Kyrsten Sinema
Arkansas - Mike Beebe
California - Gavin Newsom (Boxer has overstayed her welcome)
Colorado - Michael Bennet
Connecticut - Richard Blumenthal
Florida - Patrick Murphy
Georgia - John Barrow
Hawaii - Brian Schatz
Idaho - No candidate
Illinois - Lisa Madigan
Indiana - Evan Bayh
Iowa - If Grassley runs, no candidate. If he retires, Tom Lobesack.
Kansas - No candidate
Kentucky - Daniel Mongiardo
Louisiana - Mitch Landrieu
Maryland - Doug Gansler (Mikulski has also overstayed her welcome)
Missouri - Clint Zweifel
Nevada - Harry Reid
New Hampshire - Maggie Hassan
New York - Chuck Schumer
North Carolina - Kay Hagan
North Dakota - No candidate
Ohio - Tim Ryan
Oklahoma - No candidate
Oregon - Ron Wyden
Pennsylvania - Joe Sestak
South Carolina - No candidate
South Dakota - Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin
Utah - Jim Matheson
Vermont - Peter Welch? (Leahy has also overstayed his welcome, but I lack knowledge of Vermont's bench, so not really sure who to run)
Washington - Patty Murray
Wisconsin - Ron Kind

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

New York: Zephyr Teachout
Wisconsin: Russ Feingold
Ohio: Tim Ryan
Arkansas: Mike Bebe
Colorado: Mark Udall

In 2018:

Maine: Sheena Bellows

[smoltchanov]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Against King? Seriously??!! He will crush her.

[IceSpear]

AK: Begich
AZ: Kirkpatrick/Sinema/Carmona
FL: Murphy/Graham
GA: Barrow/Nunn/Carter
IL: Madigan/Bustos/Duckworth
IN: Bayh/Ellsworth
IA: Vilsack
KY: Beshear/Edelen
LA: Mitch or Mary Landrieu
MO: Zweifel/Koster/Russ or Robin Carnahan
NV: Cortez Masto/Miller/Titus
NH: Hassan/Lynch/Kuster
NC: Hagan/Cowell
OH: Strickland/Ryan
PA: Sestak
UT: Matheson
WI: Feingold/Kind

Just for fun on some of the unwinnables:

AL: Barnes
AR: Beebe/Ross
ID: Mitchell
KS: Orman
ND: Dorgan/Pomeroy
OK: Henry/Boren
SC: Sheheen
SD: Herseth Sandlin

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

IL. Bill Foster
CA Newsome
NC McIntyre
NH Hassen
Pa Sestak
OH Ryan
WI Feingold
FL Murphy

[136or142]

Illinois: Bill Foster.  The senate could use a physicist
New Hampshire.  Former Governor John Lynch is probably a much stronger choice than Maggie Hassan.  Hassan was only reelected by 5%.  To be sure in a Republican year and against a strong candidate.

[SWE]

Alabama - No candidate
Idaho - No candidate
Iowa - If Grassley runs, no candidate. If he retires, Tom Lobesack.
Kansas - No candidate
North Dakota - No candidate
Oklahoma - No candidate
South Carolina - No candidate

Any serious national party should do its best to field a candidate for every major race.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Alabama - No candidate
Idaho - No candidate
Iowa - If Grassley runs, no candidate. If he retires, Tom Lobesack.
Kansas - No candidate
North Dakota - No candidate
Oklahoma - No candidate
South Carolina - No candidate

Any serious national party should do its best to field a candidate for every major race.

What's the point of running a candidate that won't win no matter what?

[SWE]

Alabama - No candidate
Idaho - No candidate
Iowa - If Grassley runs, no candidate. If he retires, Tom Lobesack.
Kansas - No candidate
North Dakota - No candidate
Oklahoma - No candidate
South Carolina - No candidate

Any serious national party should do its best to field a candidate for every major race.

What's the point of running a candidate that won't win no matter what?

Having no candidate hurts down ballot.

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Against King? Seriously??!! He will crush her.

Maybe 2020 then if Collins retires, I really liked her for her civil liberties advocacy and wish that her campaign had gotten more attention.

[justfollowingtheelections]

AL: It doesn't really matter.  Some retired liberal who won't make a fool of him/herself
AK: Probably Mark Begich
AZ: Kyrsten Sinema
AR: Mike Beebe
CO: Bennet
IL: Mike Quigley
IN: Jonathan Weinzapfel
MD: Donna Edwards
NY: Zephyr Teachout
WA: Ed Murray

[retromike22]

Alabama - No candidate
Idaho - No candidate
Iowa - If Grassley runs, no candidate. If he retires, Tom Lobesack.
Kansas - No candidate
North Dakota - No candidate
Oklahoma - No candidate
South Carolina - No candidate

Any serious national party should do its best to field a candidate for every major race.

What's the point of running a candidate that won't win no matter what?

Having no candidate hurts down ballot.

Also, even if they lose they can get name recognition for a future run when an incumbent retires or if the election is in a more favorable environment.

[136or142]

Maine Shanna Bellows

Angus King caucuses with the Democrats and mostly votes with them.  Why should the Democrats run a candidate against him?

[SWE]

Maine Shanna Bellows

Angus King caucuses with the Democrats and mostly votes with them.  Why should the Democrats run a candidate against him?

Because he's a terrible moderate hero

[Libertarian Socialist Dem]

Maine Shanna Bellows

Angus King caucuses with the Democrats and mostly votes with them.  Why should the Democrats run a candidate against him?

Because he's a terrible moderate hero

Because Democrats need a few more solid civil libertarians in the ranks. With Udall and Feingold gone they really only have Wyden left.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This doesn't include incumbents, but it lists the best Democrats who could possible be candidates:

Alabama: Parker Griffith
Alaska: Ethan Berkowitz
Arizona: Ann Kirkpatrick
Arkansas: Mike Ross
Florida: Patrick Murphy
Georgia: John Barrow
Idaho: Walt Minnick
Illinois: Lisa Madigan
Indiana: Baron Hill
Iowa: Chet Culver
Kansas: Paul Davis
Kentucky: Alison Grimes or Dan Mongiardo
Louisiana: Cedric Richmond or Mitch Landrieu
Missouri: Jay Nixon
New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan or Carol Shea-Porter
North Carolina: Kay Hagan or Brad Miller
Oklahoma: Brad Henry
Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell
South Carolina: Vincent Sheheen
South Dakota: Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin
Utah: Jim Matheson
Wisconsin: Ron Kind or Mary Burke

[IceSpear]

Illinois: Bill Foster.  The senate could use a physicist
New Hampshire.  Former Governor John Lynch is probably a much stronger choice than Maggie Hassan.  Hassan was only reelected by 5%.  To be sure in a Republican year and against a strong candidate.

Lynch won by 8 in 2010, against a guy that wasn't getting pimped by every 2016 Republican presidential contender under the sun.

[Flake]

Alabama: Susan Watson (no Democrat will win here, so why not run someone who fires up the base?)
Alaska: Mark Begich
Arizona: Ann Kirkpatrick
Arkansas: Mike Ross (although this state is pretty much gone for Democrats)
Florida: Patrick Murphy
Georgia: John Barrah'
Idaho: Walt Minnick
Illinois: Lisa Madigan
Indiana: Pete Visclosky
Iowa: Tom Vilsack
Kansas: Paul Davis
Kentucky: Adam Edelen
Louisiana: Mitch Landrieu
Missouri: Clint Zweifel
New Hampshire: Ann Kuster
North Carolina: Brad Miller
Oklahoma: Bushie Brad Henry
Pennsylvania: Joe Sestak
South Carolina: Elizabeth Colbert-Busch (literally no one will win here, why not run her)
South Dakota: Run some retiring state legislator, nobody will beat Thune
Utah: Jim Matheson
Wisconsin: Russ Feingold