WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- Republicans have a chance of taking three "trophy" U.S. Senate seats away from Democrats this year, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, says.
The seats are the one in Illinois previously held by President Barack Obama, the Delaware seat formerly occupied by Vice President Joe Biden and that of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
"I call them the trophy seats," said Cornyn, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
The GOP has already scored one such symbolic victory this year when Scott Brown won a January special election for the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts.
In Illinois, the Republicans are running U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk against state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, whose failed family-owned bank was seized by federal regulators last week. In Delaware, it's Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Castle against Democrat Chris Coons, a county official painting himself as an outsider. In Nevada, Reid is looking vulnerable in his bid for re-election, with polls showing him trailing his likely GOP opponent, casino owner Sue Lowden.
Even if Republicans were to win those three seats, they still would need to take away seven more seats to regain control of the Senate.
"The cautionary note for us is that while independents are listening again, they're not yet back in love with Republicans," Cornyn told the Post. "So while this election will be in large part a referendum on the national scene and on unpopular policies coming from Washington, we've got a lot of work to do."
