Stopping Dem 60 ‘real hard,’ Cornyn fears

Simmons is set to face at least two primary opponents, including former Ireland Ambassador Tom Foley, and Portman also faces a potential primary with state Auditor Mary Taylor, though he would be heavily favored.

Cornyn said the party is unlikely to take sides in open primaries and likely won’t spend money on any primaries, including Specter’s, but he reserved the right to do either.

“I may be a minority, but I tend to think primaries are not all bad,” he said, before adding with a laugh: “Late primaries can be pretty bad.”

Cornyn said he had met with Steelman and Toomey and would back either if they won their primaries. NRSC staff also met with a potential challenger to Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) “as a courtesy,” Cornyn said, adding that the committee is backing Bunning.

Bunning has caused Cornyn a special kind of heartburn among the incumbents he must defend. The Hall of Fame pitcher has raised little money, and though he has said he will run for a third term, both Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have suggested Bunning may not run.

That has left Bunning openly furious, suggesting that McConnell has a hearing problem and that he could bring legal action against the NRSC if it backed a primary challenger.

On Monday, Cornyn acknowledged his relationship with Bunning has been “a little rocky,” but again seemed to question whether Bunning would run.

“I’m concerned for Sen. Bunning and I wanted to make sure we hold onto that seat,” Cornyn said. “I’ve said all along whether he runs or not is a personal decision that only he can make. Again, my goal is to hold onto that seat.”

Cornyn said he is aiming to help his incumbents avoid the trap into which former Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) fell last year, when she was caught off-guard by a surprisingly strong challenge amid accusations that she rarely returned to her home state.

Thanks 2 thehill.com

To read excerpts from The Hill’s interview with Sen. Cornyn, please click here .