Senate Democrats face recruitment setback in bid to reclaim majority

It’s been a rough week for Senate Democrats as they try to lay the groundwork to reclaim the chamber's majority in next year’s elections – with some of their most coveted recruits announcing they'll pass on 2020 runs.

Rising star Stacey Abrams, who came extremely close to winning last year’s gubernatorial election in Georgia, on Tuesday said no to launching a Senate bid against GOP Sen. David Perdue. Her decision was a setback to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who personally met with Abrams multiple times as he tried to recruit her.

Hours later, Rep. Cindy Axne of Iowa announced she would run for re-election next year rather than launch a Democratic challenge against Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.–– ADVERTISEMENT ––A day later, Democratic Rep. Joaquín Castro of Texas also announced he would run for re-election rather than take a stab at trying to unseat GOP Sen John Cornyn.

Also Wednesday, reports swirled that Montana Gov. Steve Bullock would likely launch a presidential campaign in the next week or two. A Bullock entry into the White House race obviously means the popular two-term governor is passing on a chance to knock off Republican Sen. Steve Daines next year.

Earlier this year, two other high-profile politicians whom the Senate Democrat’s campaign arm tried to recruit – former Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas (who nearly defeated Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in last year’s midterms) – decided to launch White House runs rather than run for the Senate.