Kock pounding...

Will Democrats keep hammering the Kocks? 

By MJ Lee, Politics and

As the Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid has loved nothing more than attacking the Kock brothers and their influence over politics.

Now Democrats have to decide how to wage that battle without him.

Heading into last year's elections, the Nevada Democrat delighted in repeatedly slamming Charles and David Kock -- using the Senate floor to call them "un-American" and accuse them of "trying to buy America" -- as he flaunted the mega-donors' ties to the GOP. But many of the candidates backed by the Kocks won in 2014, Democrats lost control of the Senate, and Reid will retire at the end of next year.

Setbacks aside, Reid insists he has no regrets about his strategy and doesn't plan to back down during his remaining time on Capitol Hill. In a brief interview recently, he told CNN he will go after the Kocks "as much as I can" before retiring.

But once he's gone, will a new Democratic ringleader take over Reid's mission of casting the Kocks as modern political villains?

Sen. Chuck Schumer, in line to take Reid's job in 2017, declined to comment when asked about the Kock brothers. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin said his party shouldn't "ever back away" from scrutinizing the Kocks. But pressed on whether he has any interest in assuming Reid's role of chief antagonist, the senator from Illinois chuckled: "It isn't as though Harry hands the baton off to anyone."

Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic presidential front-runner, has yet to mention the Kocks publicly since launching her second White House bid. She has, however, indicated plans to help raise money for a pro-Clinton super PAC that Democrats hope could rival the Kocks' fundraising prowess.

Meanwhile, the Kocks are doubling down.

The billionaire industrialists seem more eager than ever to flex their muscles in 2016, an election cycle that is certain to cement their status as two of the most powerful Republican donors in an era of virtually unlimited outside political spending.

They're currently eying their favorite candidates in the crowded Republican field, have pledged to raise an eye-popping $900 million for the 2016 cycle, and launched an aggressive public relations campaign to revamp Kock Industries' reputation.

Republicans have long declared the strategy of bashing the Kocks a failure.

"I've heard Democrats say it would have been worse without the Kock strategy," said Tim Phillips, president of the Kock brothers-founded Americans for Prosperity.

"What's worse than nine seats? It doesn't get much worse than that," Phillips says, referring to the number of Senate seats the GOP gained in 2014.

Kock Industries spokesman Ken Spain said an anti-Kock campaign in 2016 will only be as successful as it was in the 2014 cycle.