cross-posted from Election Inspection
According to the most recent polls taken, Democrats stand to pick up 5 Senate seats (AK, MN, NH, NM, VA). Two more are tossups (CO, MS-B), and only one Democratic-held seat is vulnerable enough to rate Lean Democratic (LA). Check out the polls below the fold; some are recent, some are old!
State | Incumbent | Poll | Dem Candidate | % | Rep Candidate | % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AL | Sessions | SUSA 8/25-8/27 | Figures | 37 | Sessions | 59 |
AK | Stevens | R2K 12/3-12/6 | Begich | 47 | Stevens | 41 |
CO | Allard | Rasmussen 2/11 | Mark Udall | 43 | Schaffer | 44 |
GA | Chambliss | Strategic Vision 12/7-12/9 | Vernon Jones | 27 | Chambliss | 57 |
GA | Chambliss | Strategic Vision 12/7-12/9 | Dale Cardwell | 25 | Chambliss | 57 |
GA | Chambliss | Strategic Vision 12/7-12/9 | Rand Knight | 23 | Chambliss | 58 |
GA | Chambliss | Strategic Vision 12/7-12/9 | Josh Lainer | 22 | Chambliss | 58 |
ID | Craig | Myers Research 11/13-11/19 | LaRocco | 34 | Risch | 48 |
LA | Landrieu | SUSA 12/06-12/10 | Landrieu | 46 | Kennedy | 42 |
ME | Collins | SUSA 10/26-10/29 | Allen | 38 | Collins | 55 |
MN | Coleman | Rasmussen 2/16 | Franken | 49 | Coleman | 46 |
MS | Wicker (replaces Lott) | Greenberg Quinlan Rosner 12/2-12/5 | Musgrove | 48 | Wicker | 34 |
MS | Wicker (replaces Lott) | Research 2000 12/10-12/12 | Musgrove | 39 | Wicker | 47 |
NE | Hagel | Research 2000 11/12-11/14 | Kleeb | 39 | Johanns | 47 |
NH | Sununu | Rasmussen 2/13 | Shaheen | 49 | Sununu | 41 |
NJ | Lautenberg | Rasmussen 2/27 | Lautenberg | 46 | Joe Pennacchio | 38 |
NJ | Lautenberg | Rasmussen 2/27 | Lautenberg | 46 | Murray Sabrin | 31 |
NM | Domenici | NM State U. 1/22-1/31 | Tom Udall | 58 | Heather Wilson | 30 |
NM | Domenici | NM State U. 1/22-1/31 | Tom Udall | 53 | Steve Pearce | 31 |
NC | Dole | PPP 1/21 | Kay Hagan | 35 | Dole | 48 |
NC | Dole | PPP 1/21 | Jim Neal | 30 | Dole | 49 |
OR | Smith | Rasmussen 2/13 | Jeff Merkley | 30 | Smith | 48 |
OR | Smith | Rasmussen 2/13 | Steve Novick | 35 | Smith | 48 |
SD | Johnson | Rasmussen 3/4 | Johnson | 63 | Joel Dykstra | 28 |
TX | Cornyn | Research 2000 9/24-9/26 | Noriega | 35 | Cornyn | 51 |
VA | John Warner | Rasmussen 2/19 | Mark Warner | 57 | Gilmore | 37 |
Election Inspection will be tracking these polls through November and beyond.
Loading ...
to your poll, I’d say it depends on our presidential nominee. Obama at the top of the ticket will max out African-American participation in Mississippi, and hopefully that will generate coattails. Clinton, not so much.
(Oregon is tough to call, because while Obama polls much better vs. McCain than Clinton, that might or might not generate coattails. Obama is likely to bring out people who might otherwise stay home for a Clinton/McCain contest, who hopefully will vote downballot too. On the other hand, older moderate Oregonians love to split tickets, so perhaps they might feel they’ve done their ticket-splitting civic duty by voting for McCain over Clinton, and then feel free to vote for Merkley or Novick down the ballot.)
. . . if there were only one senate seat up for election this year. Somehow, I have a hard time imagining a scenario in which Musgrove miraculously beats Wicker while Cochran gets re-elected and McCain (with a southern governor as his VP) takes the state at the presidential level. If enough Dems turned out to vote for Musgrove, the whole state would go for us. It’s not going to. Mississippi is too damn red.
Still, it’s great that Musgrove can literally give Wicker and the GOP a run for their money. The fact that the Republicans will have to spend money and fight in a state they usually take for granted means that they have fewer resources with which to fight us in places like . . . I dunno . . . Maine and Oregon? Hmmm.
I wouldn’t give up so easily on Maine and Oregon, by the way. Yes, we are severely behind in both of those states right now. Yes, those are major uphill battles against entrenched, well-liked incumbents who are perceived as “moderate.” But there’s a lot of time between now and Election Day. Who knows what party-wide scandals might crop up for the GOP? Or how strong the presidential coattails will be? Or whether Collins or Smith has a “macaca moment” of some sort on the campaign trail? (Remember, at this point in ’06, Virginia wasn’t even on our radar). This is politics. Anything can happen, and we need to be ready to jump into action at any moment. So, that means we gotta keep our sleeves rolled up and keep working, whether it’s through donations, on-the-ground volunteerism, or awareness out here on the blogs. No giving up!
Seriously, do any of you think that come November we will see Collins out and Allen in?
Also, what parts of Maine are the most Democratic and most Republican?
This is pretty much in line with my thoughts. I’ve been predicting 57 Democrats in the next Senate, with VA, NM, NH, and MN as pickups, along with two of AK, MS, CO, and NC, in roughly that order. While I really hope Udall can win in CO, I’m concerned that he may not fit the state as well as Salazar. I just think that Collins and Smith have too well proven survivor skills to go down this year, although I hope I’m wrong. On the other hand, both could be counted on to help get to 60 votes on a lot of important issues.
As far as my state of NC, this assumes Democrats nominate Hagen and not Neal. While I personally would vote for Neal, I think the optimism by NC netroots that North Carolinians would elect an openly gay senator in 2008 is misplaced. I’m not sure MA would elect an openly gay senator today! Senator Hagen is popular here in the Triad, will rise in popularity in the rest of the state as she becomes better known in the six months between the primary and the general election, and I believe she has learned from her late uncle how to win as a Democrat in a state that is favorable to Republicans. Plus North Carolinians love voting for women, and when both candidates are women, we have a pattern of voting for the Democrat. While not a favorite going in, I think she would have a legitimate chance to be the “surprise” Democratic winner that always seems to happen in good Democratic Senate years (see ’00 and ’06, e.g.)