David Williams' "diminished" power means some change in Senate is inevitable, GOP's Jackson says

Intra-party politics among the Republican state Senators will be a key theme in 2012 and a leadership change is perhaps “inevitable” in light of David Williams’ 20-point loss the in the governor’s race, said GOP consultant Ted Jackson.

Wililams has served as the Republican Senate president since 2000. But that could be coming to an end, said Jackson who did not work with any Republican campaign in 2011.

“This is politics. It’s indicative of what politics is. When someone stumbles, someone moves in to fill the void. We’re not talking about David right now. We’re talking about a guy who was bludgeoned in this race,” Jackson said at 4:15 of the video. “… In a broad sense, I still believe something will happen — some attempt to take David out or force him to leave, I think is inevitable.”

No matter what, Williams will have to walk a fine line during the 2012 session while leading the Republicans in opposition to proposals by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who defeated Williams last week.

“As a practical matter, how does he challenge Beshear and not look like sour grapes? If he capitulates, then he’ll look weak. It’s a very difficult challenge David faces,” Jackson said just before the 1 minute mark of the interview, which originally aired in Friday’s Pure Politics.

“In a lot of ways, David’s authority is gone … His authority in a lot of ways in the caucus is either diminished or gone,” he added just before the 2 minute mark. Find out how Jackson says that could play out:

One thing to look for is whether some of that power shifts from Williams to his fellow Republicans in the state Senate. (4:00 of the video)

Another key theme in 2012 is how Williams and the officials in Beshear’s administration interact.

“I think there’s a lot of hate on the table,” Jackson said just before the 5:30 mark of the interview.