LATEST SENATE POLL – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  We're following Senate polls state by state and seeing a pattern.  Yes, Republicans are ahead in many states they need to flip control of the U.S. Senate, but it's rarely by much.  What should be an easy GOP year is turning into one that could be successful, but only after a major effort.  Control of the Senate is by no means guaranteed.  From The Hill:

Sen. Kay Hagan's (D-N.C.) approval ratings are underwater, and she narrowly trails her Republican challengers, according to a new automated survey by North Carolina-based Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Hagan's approval rating is at 41 percent with 50 percent disapproving, numbers that have remained unchanged since the conservative group Americans for Prosperity began bombarding the freshman senator with negative ads late in the fall.

She trails North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R), 42 percent to 40 percent, and trails two other Republican opponents by two points as well. Tea Party favorite Greg Brannon (R) leads Hagan, 43 percent to 40 percent.

Hagan's best chance at reelection might be a drawn-out and ugly GOP primary, and the poll indicates that's where things might be headed.

Tillis leads the way with 20 percent of the GOP electorate, with Brannon and former nurse Heather Grant (R) at 13 percent apiece, former Shelby Mayor Ted Alexander (R) at 10 percent and Rev. Mark Harris (R) at 10 percent. Tillis has a big cash lead on his primary opponents, but they've begun to take shots at him in forums and Web ads.

COMMENT:  Yes, it is the splits in the Republican Party that are causing problems.  The party does not go into this campaign united.  And some of the primary battles are vicious.  It is too early to tell what actually will happen.  The Democratic administration in Washington, and its congressional supporters, are unpopular, but the Republicans are unloved.  Americans must be convinced to look to the Republicans for improvement, not simply reject the Dems.

February 14,  2014