GOP Kept Out Extremists to Win 2014

The GOP’s Senate takeover was meticulously strategized in an involved campaign not to repeat 2012. Tuesday’s Senate wins were the result of months of forcing out ultra-conservatives like Chris McDaniel in Mississippi and polishing questionable candidates like Joni Ernst in Iowa with the best policy directors and communication experts. In one drill, Republican staffers unexpectedly accosted Senate hopefuls at Reagan National Airport as practice for press conferences. Meanwhile, the GOP was determined to hammer Democratic opponents by tying them to President Obama. “It’s all about Obama,” said Republican fixer Chris LaCivita, who orchestrated Sen. Pat Roberts’s victory in Kansas. “That’s the way we win.” Meanwhile, Democrats struggled to separate themselves from the president’s unpopular policies and to get the White House financially invested. “I don’t think that the political team at the White House truly was up to speed and up to par doing what needed to get done,” said David Krone, Sen. Harry Reid's chief of staff.