From The American Prospect:
If the Democrats win the Senate and a Democratic president gets to replace Scalia and appoint three other justices, they will cement a liberal majority for at least two or three decades. If either Clinton or Sanders wins the White House, Justices Ginsburg (who will be 83 next year) and Stephen Breyer (78) might retire to allow the president to pick their younger successors. Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who sometimes votes with the court liberals, will be 80 in 2017. If he retires and a Democrat selects his replacement, the court could find itself with a 6-3 liberal majority, with only Chief Justice John Roberts (currently 61 years old) and Justices Clarence Thomas (67) and Samuel Alito (65) remaining to carry the conservative torch. (Two other liberals—61-year-old Sonia Sotomayor and 55-year-old Elena Kagan, both Obama appointees—could remain on the court for another two decades)
Even with Roberts remaining as chief justice, a court with a 6-3 liberal majority could have more influence in moving the country in a progressive direction than at any time since Chief Justice Earl Warren led the court between 1953 and 1969.
Author Peter Dreier then highlights the nine Senate-flipping states of interest:
New Hampshire: First-termer Kelly Ayotte is probably the most vulnerable Republican in the Senate. She’s facing a strong opponent in popular Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan, who announced her Senate bid in October. ... Possible Democratic pickup.
Wisconsin: Incumbent Ron Johnson is another vulnerable Republican seeking re-election. The billionaire invested about $9 million of his own money to beat Senator Russ Feingold by a small margin in 2010, a midterm election. Feingold is now seeking to regain his former seat ... Possible Democratic pickup.
Illinois: Republican Mark Kirk rode the GOP wave to victory in 2010, but this year he’s facing a tight race for re-election in a state where voters typically support a Democrat for president and where the other Senate seat is held by Dick Durbin, a popular Democrat. Representative Tammy Duckworth … is leading Kirk in most of the statewide polls, and Kirk is considered the underdog. Possible Democratic pickup.
Colorado: Democrats believe it is crucial to hold onto this Senate seat, currently held by Michael Bennet, who is running for re-election. … There is no clear frontrunner among Republicans seeking the party’s nomination, which gives Bennet an advantage. … Bennet will need a strong Democratic turnout to stay in office. Tossup.
Ohio: Republican incumbent Rob Portman is running for re-election. His likely Democratic opponent, former Governor Ted Strickland, is currently leading Portman in the polls. Strickland won a landslide victory for governor in 2006 but lost a close race to John Kasich four years later. This will be an intense battleground state in both the presidential and Senate races. Tossup.
Pennsylvania: The Republican incumbent Patrick Toomey wants to stay in the Senate, but he is not a very popular politician in this state. The two leading Democrats are Katie McGinty (former chief of staff to Governor Tom Wolf) and former Representative Joe Sestak … A strong Democratic turnout could doom Toomey’s re-election bid and help the Democrats take back the Senate. Possible Democratic pickup.
Nevada: Democrat Harry Reid ... recruited former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to run for the seat as the Democratic nominee. She will likely face Representative Joe Heck in the general election in what promises to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. Tossup; possible GOP pickup.
Florida: [Democratic Senate candidates] Representative Alan Grayson [a fierce progressive] [and newly registered Democrat] Representative Patrick Murphy [who previously donated $2,300 to Mitt Romney] [are competing for] the Democratic nomination. [The] likely GOP candidates ... include Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, Representatives Ron DeSantis and David Jolly, and defense contractor Todd Wilcox, a former Special Forces commander and CIA veteran. Tossup; possible Democratic pickup.
Arizona: ...Republican John McCain … could be defeated if the Democrats nominate a strong candidate and invest the money needed to run a good campaign. He is likely to run against Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, the toughest Democratic challenger he has ever faced. A strong Democratic turnout, especially among women, could give Kirkpatrick a victory. Tossup; longshot Democratic pickup.
(In the above quote, I’ve added some background details relevant to the Florida race)
So there we have it. Nine Senate races which will either hinder or empower the next Democratic President, and which will certainly exert a powerful influence on the Supreme Court. Now it’s up to Daily Kos Elections to create the appropriate ActBlue donation pages to help fund these important races, and then it’s up to us to work the phones and hit the streets to turn all these states BLUE!!!