Strong Candidates Give GOP Hope for Open Senate Seats

Don’t let the stories about how grim 2010 looks for the Senate Republicans fool you. The spate of retirements in swing states is no boon, to be sure, but, Politico reports, the GOP will have no trouble coming up with good candidates in Florida, Ohio, and Missouri. A state-by-state overview:

• Florida: Former state House Speaker Marco Rubio—37, dynamic, and Cuban-American—is likely to run. “He’s a young, good-looking, exciting guy,” says a consultant.
• Missouri: Out in front is former House Republican whip Roy Blunt. Other possibilities include former Sen. Jim Talent, and former state treasurer Sarah Steelman, whom one operative calls “Sarah Palin with an economics degree.”
• Ohio: Former Congressman and White House budget director Rob Portman may head the Republican field. But, scoffs one Dem, “Rob Portman? The architect of the Bush economy?”

(More Election 2010 stories.)