Having strong GOP candidates in the election is "90 percent of the game," Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign, said Monday, noting that Scott Brown's U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts has made his job a lot easier these days.

"We've heard from a lot of people who previously said they were not going to run and telling us now they're reconsidering," Cornyn said, adding that "a great range" of high-quality candidates are emerging across the country.

One of the most prominent examples is the Arkansas race for incumbent Democrat Sen. Blanche Lincoln's seat. Republican Rep. John Boozman of Arkansas says Brown's upset win convinced him that now is the right time to challenge Lincoln, and he has officially entered the race...