Top Armed Services Committee Democrats gunned down

Three of the top four Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee were wiped out Tuesday night, setting up a major reshuffling and leadership fight on the panel in the new Congress.

With election results coming in, Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton was projected to lose his Missouri 4th District seat to Republican challenge Vicky Hartzler.

The next Democrat with seniority, Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., was also expected to lose his 5th District seat to GOP challenger Mick Mulvaney. And Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., was projected to lose his 4th District seat to Republican candidate Steven Palazzo.

The other top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Texas, was running neck-and-neck with GOP challenger Blake Farenthold for the 27th District seat.

If Ortiz goes down, next in seniority on the panel would be Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, who appeared to be handily defeating his Republican challenger. But Reyes already chairs the House Intelligence Committee.

If Ortiz loses, there would not be a clear-cut front-runner to replace Skelton as top Democrat on Armed Services. Skelton has been an institutional figure on the panel, having been chairman or ranking member since 1998.