Republican Sen. John Cornyn told an audience of conservatives Friday that the circumstances he faces as leader of the Senate’s campaign arm are bleak, but there may be some “unexpected opportunities” to pick up seats in 2010 — even if it’s without a conservative on the ticket.

“If we don’t turn this around then soon we’ll be able to rent out the Republican cloakroom and just meet on the elevator,” Cornyn, Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

Republicans lost their majority in the Senate in 2006 and additional seats in the 2008 elections, giving Democrats a current working majority of 58 seats. In order to combat filibusters, Democrats need 60 votes.

“Right now, I see the landscape as pretty promising,” the Texan said.

He identified open seats in Ohio, Missouri and Florida that the party will target and added that “unexpected opportunities” to gain Senate seats may arise in New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Arkansas, Colorado, Nevada, and California.

“Our mission is clear: We must win more Republican seats. We must build a new majority,” Cornyn said.

But the first task he outlined for his party is to win the protracted Senate battle in Minnesota where Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken, comedian and author, are mired in legal challenges to decide the winner of their Senate contest.

Cornyn said the future of the party rests in building back a GOP majority beginning by finding quality candidates to run in 2010. “Getting the right candidate is 90 percent of the game,” he said.

Cornyn stopped short of saying all candidates should share the ideology of the staunch conseratives he was addressing.

“Not all of these candidates are going to be as conservative as I am on each and every issue,” Cornyn said. “It’s critical that we get candidates that will fit their states and who can get elected.”

While many conservatives gathered at the conference Thursday railed against moderates and non-conservative Republicans whom they believe have steered the party away from it’s core Republican values, Cornyn touted a different approach Friday.

“I would rather have a Republican who votes with me 80 percent of the time than a liberal Democrat who will vote with me zero percent of the time,” he said.

Cornyn stressed the importance of broadening the party by reaching out to Hispanics, African-Americans, and “members of other ethnic and religious communities.”