Democrats face challenging Senate landscape

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Democrats face challenging Senate landscape
By KEN THOMAS and THOMAS BEAUMONT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a surprising string of victories last fall, Democrats now face a challenging terrain as they look to hold onto their Senate majority in 2014 and prevent Republicans from gaining full control of Congress during President Barack Obama's final two years. His party must defend a hefty 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that the president lost last fall.

The task of maintaining control of the Senate has grown more daunting in recent weeks, with four Senate Democrats announcing plans to retire. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan disclosed his decision on Thursday, following Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller. New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg has also said he will retire, but Democrats will be heavily favored to hold the seat. A fifth Democratic retirement could come soon from South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson, who has not yet announced his intentions.

Democrats control 55 seats in the Senate, after November elections in which they did better than expected and gained two seats to pad their majority. That means Republicans would need to pick up six seats next year to take control for the first time since 2006.

Twenty months before the mid-term elections, Republicans are laying the groundwork to try to capitalize on the defense-playing Democrats, working to recruit strong candidates in Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia - all states carried by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney last year. They're also buoyed by history, which shows the party controlling the White House typically loses seats during the midterm of a second-term president.