The Hill News

Retiring Sen. Judd Gregg expressed confidence on Monday that the Senate would continue to allow for substantial bipartisan work in the face of an increasingly polarized political atmosphere in Washington. 

Gregg, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said that because senators are not elected from "gerrymandered" districts like many House members are, they are not beholden to narrow political bases. 

"The Senate still has the potential to be a place where there is moderate activity," he said in a joint interview on CNBC with retiring Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.). "Where people like Evan and I can work across the aisle, as we have on a lot of different issues and make progress, which is important."

Despite the New Hampshire senator's optimism, recent signs have indicated the Senate is susceptible to partisan politics in a year that has seen voters take on an anti-Washington attitude. 

Three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett was ousted f! rom the primary ballot by the Utah GOP convention in May. Conservative activists targeted Bennett for his support of the TARP bailouts backed by Democrats and Republicans, as well as his work with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on a healthcare reform proposal. 

In the wake of his defeat, Bennett has sharply criticized the conservative Tea Party movement that helped beat him and has said the GOP lacks policy ideas.

While some conservatives have worked to get more right-wing members in the upper chamber, some liberals have a! rgued for looser filibuster rules to make it easier for the De! mocratic majority to pass its agenda.

Other observers say that the death or retirements of some of the Senate's old guard, such as Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), could lead to less cooperation between parties. 

But Gregg said that the Senate has a structural edge over the House in that regard. 

"Only the base people really get to have a say in who gets to represent them," he said of House members.