Who ran the worst Senate campaign in 2016?

[MT Treasurer]

Wow... am I really the only one who thinks Blunt ran the worst campaign? The guy got very lucky in the end and almost lost to a very liberal Democrat in a very red state, while underperforming Trump by 16 points.

[Figueira]

I don't get why people are saying Bayh. I think his state just wasn't going to vote for a Democrat this time.

[morgieb]

Wow... am I really the only one who thinks Blunt ran the worst campaign? The guy got very lucky in the end and almost lost to a very liberal Democrat in a very red state, while underperforming Trump by 16 points.

Well he certainly ran the worst winning campaign. But the fact that he won means he couldn't be the worst, IMO.

[Free Bird]

I don't get why people are saying Bayh. I think his state just wasn't going to vote for a Democrat this time.

Doesn't matter, it's Evan Bayh and he lost badly. His early lead indicates that he was going to have the Bill Weld effect; it was his for the taking, and he blew it.

[Pericles]

Bayh was an embarrassment, since he had a huge lead and was seen as a brilliant recruit for the Democrats but lost by 10 points. He had immense problems and ultimately the Bayh brand and memory of Birch Bayh was not enough to get such a lackluster, insider candidate over the finish line. Strickland and Kirk would have lost anyway, and while Feingold was bad that was partly because Johnson was good and that Bayh started in an even stronger position.

[Mr. Smith]

Bayh was an embarrassment, since he had a huge lead and was seen as a brilliant recruit for the Democrats but lost by 10 points. He had immense problems and ultimately the Bayh brand and memory of Birch Bayh was not enough to get such a lackluster, insider candidate over the finish line. Strickland and Kirk would have lost anyway, and while Feingold was bad that was partly because Johnson was good and that Bayh started in an even stronger position.

Not like Baron Hill would've come closer.

[DavidB.]

Ayotte, actually. Making those dumb remarks on Trump being an example for women or whatever and then backtracking was a really bad look and may have cost her the election. Someone like Strickland wouldn't have won anyway, and Feingold lost because of Clinton, not because of his own campaign. Bayh was a paper tiger, representing the Beltway, corruption, backroom lobbying, and everything people hated and wanted to do away with in this election. Not even really his campaign's fault.

Dishonorable mention for Patrick Murphy, who, apparently, was highly overrated. His campaign was lousy, with him promising to debate at Univision and then backtracking as worst moment. Who ever thought that was going to be a good idea? He should have attacked Rubio on his Trump endorsement much more.

[Horsemask]

I voted for Strickland, but I'm right there with TNVolunteer regarding Roy Blunt. Saved by coattails, he is very, VERY lucky.

[sg0508]

Feingold.  His team clearly poll-watched way too much and got burned in the end. 

[jamestroll]

I voted for Strickland, but I'm right there with TNVolunteer regarding Roy Blunt. Saved by coattails, he is very, VERY lucky.

I agree. Strickland really busted.

I was disappointed when Kander lost, but not as much as I was when Koster lost. Almost cried.

Roy Blunt was not taking the race seriously enough.

[Blair]

There's a difference between being a bad candidate and running a bad campaign; Kelly Ayotte is the example of a very able candidate on paper who ran a below average campaign.

I mean what would people have done to get Bayh to win? Like what would you have told him to do/say?

[hopper]

Probably Strickland. He was a two-stint congressman and a Governor and he lost by 21% points. He let Portman attack him and didn't counter Portman's attack ads at all. Portman did probably did run the best campaign out of any US Senate Candidate though this cycle. He was "on the ground" a lot courting voters I think.

Bayh lost because he was a lobbyist and people don't want to vote in former lobbyists this cycle. They were angry at Washington DC just like they were in 2010 and wanted to send "the political class" a message. 

[sg0508]

Probably Strickland. He was a two-stint congressman and a Governor and he lost by 21% points. He let Portman attack him and didn't counter Portman's attack ads at all. Portman did probably did run the best campaign out of any US Senate Candidate though this cycle. He was "on the ground" a lot courting voters I think.

Bayh lost because he was a lobbyist and people don't want to vote in former lobbyists this cycle. They were angry at Washington DC just like they were in 2010 and wanted to send "the political class" a message. 

Bayh was also an establishment candidate, and he seemed to be out of touch with IN; people perhaps didn't see him as one of their own anymore.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Murphy or Blunt.

And bonus primary flame-out: Donna Edwards, all those Colorado GOP losers, Alan Grayson and Joe Sestak.

[Free Bird]

Probably Strickland. He was a two-stint congressman and a Governor and he lost by 21% points. He let Portman attack him and didn't counter Portman's attack ads at all. Portman did probably did run the best campaign out of any US Senate Candidate though this cycle. He was "on the ground" a lot courting voters I think.

Bayh lost because he was a lobbyist and people don't want to vote in former lobbyists this cycle. They were angry at Washington DC just like they were in 2010 and wanted to send "the political class" a message. 

Bayh was also an establishment candidate, and he seemed to be out of touch with IN; people perhaps didn't see him as one of their own anymore.

That IS what did Lugar in.

[RINO Tom]

What was so bad about Rand Paul's campaign? That he ran 5 points behind Trump?

I cast a wide net - Rand ran pretty far behind The Donald this year and pretty close to his 2010 result, despite being in the Senate for a full term and getting an opponent who nobody really gave a shot.

It's pretty normal for a local Kentucky Republican to run behind a national Republican, no?

[hopper]

Probably Strickland. He was a two-stint congressman and a Governor and he lost by 21% points. He let Portman attack him and didn't counter Portman's attack ads at all. Portman did probably did run the best campaign out of any US Senate Candidate though this cycle. He was "on the ground" a lot courting voters I think.

Bayh lost because he was a lobbyist and people don't want to vote in former lobbyists this cycle. They were angry at Washington DC just like they were in 2010 and wanted to send "the political class" a message. 

Bayh was also an establishment candidate, and he seemed to be out of touch with IN; people perhaps didn't see him as one of their own anymore.

That IS what did Lugar in.

Well Coats won in 2010 and he was a lobbyist after he retired from the US Senate in 1998.

[hopper]

What was so bad about Rand Paul's campaign? That he ran 5 points behind Trump?

I cast a wide net - Rand ran pretty far behind The Donald this year and pretty close to his 2010 result, despite being in the Senate for a full term and getting an opponent who nobody really gave a shot.

It's pretty normal for a local Kentucky Republican to run behind a national Republican, no?

Basically a KY Dem US Senate Candidate is like an NJ Republican US Senate Candidate in that both generic US Senate Candidates from both states can get 45% of the vote. They just can't get over 45% of the vote!

[Maxwell]

Probably Strickland. He was a two-stint congressman and a Governor and he lost by 21% points. He let Portman attack him and didn't counter Portman's attack ads at all. Portman did probably did run the best campaign out of any US Senate Candidate though this cycle. He was "on the ground" a lot courting voters I think.

Bayh lost because he was a lobbyist and people don't want to vote in former lobbyists this cycle. They were angry at Washington DC just like they were in 2010 and wanted to send "the political class" a message. 

Bayh was also an establishment candidate, and he seemed to be out of touch with IN; people perhaps didn't see him as one of their own anymore.

That IS what did Lugar in.

Well Coats won in 2010 and he was a lobbyist after he retired from the US Senate in 1998.

Coats' margin was pretty underwhelming, considering that Young almost won by that much this year despite trailing by over 10 as much as a few months ago.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Remember that in many ways Jim Gray was emphasizing his similarities with Trump.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Evan Bayh and Ted Strickland were just a symbol of what was wrong with the Clinton nomination, scandal. And how Boxer, Pelosi, Debbie Wasserman, and Feinstein wrongly helped nominated Clinton instead of Bernie Sanders.

Who would have won the 279-259 blue wall and won WI, MI and PA. Those Independent votes that could have gotten away would have went to Sanders.