Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says there’s a good chance Democrats will be left with just seven seats in the Tennessee state Senate after the Nov. 6 election.
House Speaker Beth Harwell’s most optimistic Republican scenario has the minority party with just 24 representatives remaining.
They and other Republican leaders say there’s virtually no doubt that the GOP will hit a new high-water mark in the 2012 elections by gaining a two-thirds “super majority” in both chambers of the Legislature. There is considerable confidence in Republican ranks that they will go beyond that to what some are calling “a super duper majority.”
Democrats concede the probability of a super majority, which can be achieved by Republicans gaining just two seats each in the House and the Senate, and do not dispute the possibility that things could be a lot worse than that for them.
“We’re going to get outspent $3 or $4 to one. They’re done redistricting so it will help their candidates. And we’ve got a president who is not popular with a lot of people,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner. “If we can come back with 34 seats, they will have done a terrible job.”

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