WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing off in one of the most contested Senate races in the nation, Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall and his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner, found something to agree on this week – giving President Barack Obama the authority he’s asked for to train and arm Syrian rebels taking on brutal Islamic State militants.
Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley and Republican Joni Ernst, battling for the Senate in Iowa, also backed the Democratic president.
For those in tough races in November, opposing the commander in chief on a question of fighting terrorists posed risks aplenty. Polls show the public supports a forceful response against Islamic State fighters who’ve taken over portions of Iraq and Syria and beheaded two American journalists and a British aid worker.
Yet standing with an unpopular president seeking to broaden a dangerous conflict with no certain conclusion carries hazards of its own. Some lawmakers said Obama’s strategy wouldn’t succeed in defeating the militants, and there was little appetite among war-weary voters for an open-ended commitment or the involvement of American ground troops – something Obama promised would not happen.
Some Senate challengers avoided questions on the topic or criticized Obama’s policy without saying how they’d vote. At least one endangered Democratic incumbent, Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska, planned to vote “no.”