Surveying the carnage from Tuesday's election, it's hard not to notice that among the incoming roster of Repub freshmen, there are a bunch of people who make you wonder, "Huh? How the hell did they win?" It's the same question asked in 1994 about people like Fred Heineman, Steve Stockman and Michael Flanagan. All three of them were gone in 1996.
With this in mind, here are three Repub freshmen who I think have "one-term wonder" written all over them in 2012. All three of them represent districts that have fairly solid Democratic pedigrees, a deep Dem bench, and went solidly for Obama in 2008.
*Bobby Schilling (IL-17): If there's a guy who's a worse fit for his district, I've yet to see it. He's a teabagger in a district that includes solidly Democratic Moline and Rock Island. Moreover, my research indicates that before this district went Dem in 1982, it elected moderate Republicans.
*Lou Barletta (PA-11): The third time was finally the charm for this anti-immigration zealot--and then only because Paul Kanjorski was damaged goods. It's hard to imagine a district that includes dark-blue Scranton and Wilkes-Barre electing this guy for another term. And it looks like we have a ready-made candidate--Corey O'Brien, who lost to Kanjorski in the primary.
*Chip Cravaack (MN-08): Endorsed by the Gun Owners of America--enough said. Likely won because Jim Oberstar tried to Coakley his way to another term. He's also from the wrong part of the district--it's based in Duluth, and Cravaack lives in the far southern portion.