Democrats facing reelection in the 2014 midterm elections need to show independence and distance themselves from President Barack Obama, former senior White House adviser David Axelrod said Friday.
"I think they need to do what West Virginia Democrats do, South Dakota Democrats do, and burnish their reputations as independents. And, they will," Axelrod told
MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
The Washington Post on Thursday
forecast a 54 percent chance Republicans would take control of the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections. West Virginia and South Dakota were named as best chances for Republicans to win Senate races, with slight margins for GOP candidates in Iowa, Montana, Louisiana, and Alaska.
Axelrod explained Democratic candidates should choose selective issues "on which they differ from the president." He said an added problem for Democrats was that "history is not kind to the party that holds the White House in the sixth year of any presidency."
Fundraising among Republicans had been "robust," according to Axelrod. He suggested Democrats focus their attention on midterm races in 2014, rather than 2016 elections, because Republicans posed a "serious threat."
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