Maddow: Democrats could keep Senate thanks to extreme GOP candidates

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said Wednesday night that the Democratic Party could benefit from the ouster of moderate Republican candidates.

"Republicans were really, really, really confident heading into the last election cycle in 2010," she said. "They knew they were going to win big all across the country."

While Republicans did manage to take over the U.S. House and numerous state legislatures, Maddow noted that they lost some important elections and failed to take the U.S. Senate.

"Candidates matter, and in some of the key races in 2010, Republicans, you know, frankly just picked badly when they picked their candidates," she said. "They had more electable, more moderate candidates available, but they rejected them in favor of the Sharron Angles of the world."

Maddow suggested a similar phenomenon was happening again. Moderate candidates, like Republican Sen. Dick Lugar (IN), were losing primary races to more extreme candidates.

"I think it is a process that must feel great to the Republicans, because they keep doing it, but so far, in 2012, just like in 2010, it means that the Democrats are starting to look like they will have a chance of holding on to the Senate in November," she added. "That is something that nobody though the Democrats could do until a few months ago."

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