MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
Senator Lieberman's announcement comes one day after Democratic Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota said he too will be stepping down. And here to talk about the political landscape shaping up for Senate elections in 2012 is Amy Walter. She's a regular guest on this program, and the political director of ABC News. Welcome back, Amy.
BLOCK: Thank you very much, Melissa.
BLOCK: And let's do a little election math here. Democrats now hold a 53 to 47-seat edge in the Senate. They also have a whole lot more seats that they will have to defend in 2012 than the Republicans do.
BLOCK: That's exactly right. In order for Republicans to get control of the Senate, they need to pick up four seats. Or if they win the White House, they need three seats. The good news for Republicans, they only have 10 seats they have to defend. They have 23 seats they can go after that Democrats hold right now, including states that are very red, places like Nebraska and North Dakota and West Virginia. And there are potential for a number of open-seat opportunities for Republicans.
BLOCK: Let's talk a little bit about North Dakota. We did just see a Democratic Senate seat that had been held by Byron Dorgan go to a Republican, John Hoeven. And that state's only House seat flipped from Democrat to Republican. Do you think this will be an easy pick-up for Republicans in 2012, the Kent Conrad seat?
BLOCK: This looks by every mention to be the kind of place where Republicans could pick it up. And it's not just because it's such a red state. It's also because there is not a deep bench of Democrats in the state. There are plenty of Republicans interested in running for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a Senate seat. And, you know, when you look at just how tough it's going to be in a presidential election as well, I just think this is going to be one of those seats that ultimately Democrats probably are going to have to write off.
BLOCK: Amy, we're already talking about 2012. We just got through the last election, but one key theme there, obviously, was the strength that we saw of the Tea Party and how that ended up shaping some of the contests. Are you expecting to see the same thing in 2012?
BLOCK: So the real question in my mind, for 2012, is not what influence will the Tea Party have, but what kind of influence will it have? And can they consider themselves outsiders anymore, given how influential they will be - much more influential they'll be in Congress, as well as in many of these states?
BLOCK: There was a statement from the National Republican Senatorial Committee after these two retirements were announced saying, all of us are left to wonder how many more Democrats may follow in their footsteps. Amy, you're clearly wondering the same thing.
BLOCK: Hawaii wouldn't be considered a competitive seat if Akaka were running again. As an open seat, very competitive. Same with Wisconsin.
BLOCK: I've been talking with Amy Walter, the political director of ABC News. Amy, thanks very much.
BLOCK: You're very welcome.