McConnell to 2016 Republicans: 'Get ready'

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell convened a meeting Wednesday of all Republican senators running for re-election in 2016. His message to them: “Get ready.”

Fresh off of winning a hard-fought re-election campaign in Kentucky, McConnell is trying to prepare his new majority for what appears at the outset to be a tough Senate map. In part because of their success in 2010, Republicans are defending seats in blue states like Illinois and Pennsylvania and swing territories like Florida and Ohio. A Republican senator who attended the gathering said McConnell impressed upon GOP incumbents the need to prepare early for the possibility of tough re-election battles.