Insiders: GOP likely to lose Senate seats

WASHINGTON, July 6 (UPI) -- Republicans in the U.S. Senate could see their ranks dwindle after the November election, party insiders say.

The GOP could lose seats, even from reliably Republican states, including Mississippi, which has not elected a Democratic senator in a quarter-century, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

The newspaper said Democrats have strong Senate campaigns in states such as Mississippi, Alaska and North Carolina.

GOP leaders concede it is very unlikely they will regain control of the Senate this year, even though Democrats' current 51-49 majority is narrow.

"If you have an R in front of your name, you better run scared," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Ensign said it will be a good election if the GOP can hold its losses to four Senate seats.

Senate Republicans are defending 23 seats, while 12 Democratic seats are at stake in November.

A year ago, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report identified only one race for a Republican Senate seat as a tossup. Now, it identifies seven Republican seats as at risk.

"This is the toughest election in my 32 years in the U.S. Senate," wrote Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, vice chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in a fundraising letter.