Democrats Land Their Big Recruit

West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant

A while back, I spoke about how the Democrats desperately needed some of the top tier female candidates that were rumored to be interested in running for the Senate, and as a whole, they were largely successful.  Of the four women I mentioned, three of the four (Michelle Nunn, Alison Lundergan Grimes, and today's Natalie Tennant).  Tennant's announcement today was a huge coup for the Democrats-the DSCC had struggled mightily in the three open red state seats (West Virginia, South Dakota, and Montana) to get a top tier candidate.  Tennant changes that fact, and with the exception of Montana (where Lt. Governor John Walsh is rumored to be the favored candidate for the Democrats), this completes the roster of Democrats that will be running top tier races for the Senate this upcoming year.  Tennant, Lundergan Grimes, Nunn, and hopefully Walsh, along with Bruce Braley in Iowa and Gary Peters in Michigan are the open seat challengers with a competitive edge to join the Senate (South Dakota is a lost cause, meaning we already start down one-thanks a lot, Stephanie Herseth), along with the four red state incumbent senators that are the Democrats' firewall to keep the GOP out of the majority (Kay Hagan, Mary Landrieu, Mark Begich, and Mark Pryor).  With Walsh a strong possibility to announce any day now, it looks like the DSCC has their team.