Sen. John Kerry D-Mass., speaks with actor Ben Affleck during a meeting with foreign relations members to discus the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)
2:52 pm ET -If John Kerry's seat needs to be filled next year, it will be the fourth time Massachusetts voters have chosen Senate candidates in a six-year period. Actor-director Ben Affleck said Monday he won't run.
Senate (View all)
- Election 2012 results: Women to reach landmark – 20 percent of senators
- Virginia Senate: how Tim Kaine survived a record barrage of attack ads
- Claire McCaskill: 'most endangered Democrat' wins Missouri Senate race (+video)
- Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin helps Democrats retain US Senate seat (+video)
- Senator Casey prevails against GOP newcomer and 'war on coal' (+video)
- 'Red' Indiana sends Democrat to US Senate, as women fled Mourdock (+video)
- How Elizabeth Warren bested Sen. Scott Brown in Massachusetts (+video)
- Angus King wins. Maine sends new voice of moderation to Senate.
- Rand Paul as kingmaker in US Senate race in Montana?
More Senate
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Tea party's Richard Mourdock trails in Indiana Senate race, poll shows
Once favored to win the US Senate race in Indiana, the GOP's Richard Mourdock now trails by 11 points, a new poll shows. Independents, in particular, have abandoned him since his statement about pregnancy from rape and God's intent.
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Virginia Senate race: Why Tim Kaine, George Allen vie for bipartisan mantle
In Virginia, Republican George Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine each want to show he's the one who can work across the aisle to get things done. Target suburban voters want a candidate who can help make a dysfunctional US Senate work.
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Hurricane Sandy: Freeze on politics affects key races for Congress, too
Amid the struggle to control the Senate in the next Congress, Hurricane Sandy put two close races on hold, in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where the candidates' focus turned to storm recovery.
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Battleground Virginia: Defense cuts loom large in key US Senate race
In their last debate in the Virginia Senate race, George Allen and Tim Kaine clashed over how to avoid some $55 billion in mandated defense cuts set to begin Jan. 1. Allen would take more from social programs; Kaine would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
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Why has the Wisconsin Senate race tightened?
A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday shows former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R) leading US Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D) 46 to 45 percent among likely voters in Wisconsin.
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Could Democrats steal a Senate seat in Arizona?
Former President Bill Clinton is in Arizona Wednesday to campaign for Democratic Senate candidate Richard Carmona, who is staying close to his Republican challenger, Jeff Flake.
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Brown-Warren debate: Will race boil down to jobs, character, or both?
With Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren squaring off in a hotly contested Senate race, polls suggest that both character issues and substantive policy questions could make a difference.
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Todd Akin: Why some Republicans are now supporting him
Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and two Republican senators – one of whom previously called for Todd Akin to step down – threw support behind the congressman Wednesday.
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Elizabeth Warren and Cherokee heritage: what is known about allegations
Sen. Scott Brown is bringing up the allegation that Senate-race rival Elizabeth Warren sought to benefit as a law professor by claiming Cherokee heritage. Several questions remain unanswered.
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Brown-Warren debate: Jabs span from tax policy to personal character
Locked in a tight race, Sen. Scott Brown (R) of Massachusetts and Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren pulled no punches in their first debate Thursday night. At the end, both were still standing.
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Elizabeth Warren vs. Scott Brown in first debate: what they need to do
Challenger Elizabeth Warren will debate Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts Thursday. The race, one of the nation's most closely watched, is seen as a tossup.
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Elizabeth Warren takes slim lead in Massachusetts Senate race
Polls show that Elizabeth Warren has overturned a small deficit and now has a small lead over Sen. Scott Brown. But with both candidates' favorability ratings rising, the race remains tight.
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Who will stick with Akin?
Todd Akin, refusing to bow out of the Missouri Senate race, is appealing to social conservatives, religious pro-family groups, and high-profile politicos to try to steer his campaign back on course.
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Todd Akin says he's staying in Senate race, despite furor over rape comment
Todd Akin's remark on 'legitimate rape' set off a firestorm, including within Republican ranks. If he were to drop out of the Missouri Senate race before 5 p.m. Tuesday, the state party can nominate a replacement.
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'Legitimate rape' comment by GOP's Todd Akin shakes up Missouri Senate race (+video)
Amid furor over Rep. Todd Akin's comment – that women's bodies are almost always able to prevent pregnancy in cases of 'legitimate rape' – Democrats have new hope of defending their most vulnerable US Senate seat.
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Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin lifts GOP hopes for US Senate takeover
Before he won Wisconsin's Senate primary Tuesday, Tommy Thompson led Democrat Tammy Baldwin in a hypothetical matchup by 5 points, a poll showed. This marks the former governor's reentry into politics.
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Stakes high for GOP as Wisconsin voters settle on a Senate matchup
Wisconsin has an open US Senate seat, and Republicans hope to pick it off on their way to a takeover of the upper chamber. Voters decide Tuesday which of four candidates will carry the GOP banner into the fall election.
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'Welfare-voter' spat in Massachusetts part of larger political duel
Republican Sen. Scott Brown says Massachusetts' decision to try to expand voter registration among welfare recipients is a blatant political maneuver. But it is part of a national trend.
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Scott Brown to Elizabeth Warren: Pony up for state's 'welfare voter' drive
Sen. Scott Brown (R) said Friday that rival Elizabeth Warren should reimburse Massachusetts for the cost of mailing voter-registration forms to welfare recipients – a move he says was calculated to help her campaign.
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'Welfare voters' are latest battleground in Brown-Warren Senate race
GOP Sen. Scott Brown charges that a new drive to register low-income voters in Massachusetts is a bid to boost support for Democrat Elizabeth Warren, pushed by a left-leaning group with ties to the challenger.
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Missouri primary: Tea party win sets up battle for control of Senate (+video)
Embattled Sen. Claire McCaskill now faces US Rep. Todd Akin, who ran on tea party fiscal issues and evangelical social issues, in a race set to turn on sharp ideological contrasts.
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How Missouri Senate primary fits into tea party strategy for Election 2012
Three Republican candidates – all with tea party ties – are vying in Tuesday's Missouri primary for the chance to take on Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in the fall. GOP takeover of the Senate is a top tea party aim.
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Ted Cruz, pulling an upset, is poised to boost tea party ranks in Senate
Ted Cruz, the new darling of the tea party, easily won his primary runoff against Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and is favored to win in November. He could become a spokesman for no-compromise conservatives.
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Elizabeth Warren: What will Obama's 'you didn't build that' ally say to DNC?
Elizabeth Warren may fill two roles at the DNC: a champion of the little guy who fires up the base and someone who presents Democrats as the mainstream alternative to the party of the rich.
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Sen. Orrin Hatch survives tea party primary challenge: how he did it
Orrin Hatch, a six-term veteran of the US Senate, fought off a tea party-backed challenge in Utah’s Republican primary Tuesday. His tactics could serve as a lesson for other GOP incumbents.











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