While the 1988 spotlight is on the presidential race, 33 Senate seats are up for grabs as well—18 Democratic, 15 Republican. Although it’s still hyper-early for forecasting, it is clear, nevertheless, that a few incumbencies will be precarious.
Among Republicans, Dave Durenberger of Minnesota and Chic Hecht of Nevada have, by conventional Washington wisdom, one foot out the Capitol door. Durenberger’s recent comments about Americans spying on Israel, plus his ill-disguised craving for the television lens during last December’s theoretically “closed” Intelligence Committee hearings on Iran, have given him a decidedly flaky look, says the street talk here. Durenberger also faces a serious opponent in Skip Humphrey, Hubert’s son and the current Minnesota attorney general. Hecht, too, will be up against a tough home-state opponent: Nevada Governor Richard Bryan, who already has a hefty lead in the polls. To compound his problem, Hecht’s seat traditionally goes Democratic.
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