Cook upgrades two dozen races

In 2006, ineffective Bush Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito won re-election with 57 percent of the vote in a year that saw Democrats take over the House nationally.  

George Bush won in a landslide in the district. You’d think there couldn’t be a more “Solid Republican” seat.

Today Cook Political Report (subscription required) has upgraded the race in Barth’s direction once again. As I’ve understood it, the Cook Political Report only moves a race up one notch at a time. WV-02 has gone from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.”

That doesn’t mean Barth doesn’t have a lot of ground to make up and a lot of work to do. With her Big Oil fat cats, coal barons, Wall Street, mortgage lenders and banks helping to keep her in office as a reliable rubberstamp for their interests, Capito has three times the money in the bank.

But it’s no wonder Republicans are having to spend money from [a fund to assist challengers to help try to save Capito.

Barth is taking Capito to the mats and Capito’s spokesman already is crying about it.

The more people learn of Capito’s record and not the faux moderate image the media has let her create, the less they like her. By contrast, the more people who meet Barth, the more they like her.

Capito can’t. Anne can. It’s that simple.

Here’s the 27 races upgraded in our direction

AL-03    Mike Rogers    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

CA-46    Dana Rohrabacher    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

FL-08    Ric Keller    Likely Republican to Lean Republican

FL-09    Gus Bilirakis    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

FL-18    Ileana Ros-Lehtinen    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

FL-21    Lincoln Diaz-Balart    Likely Republican to Lean Republican

ID-01    Bill Sali    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

IN-03    Mark Souder    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

IA-04    Tom Latham    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

KY-02    OPEN (Lewis)    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

MN-02    John Kline    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

NE-02    Lee Terry    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

NV-02    Dean Heller    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

NJ-05    Scott Garrett    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

NY-13    OPEN (Fossella)    Toss Up to Lean Democratic

NY-25    OPEN (Walsh)    Toss Up to Lean Democratic

NC-10    Patrick McHenry    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

OH-07    OPEN (Hobson)    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

PA-03    Phil English    Likely Republican to Lean Republican

PA-05    OPEN (Peterson)    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

PA-11    Paul Kanjorksi    Likely Democratic to Lean Democratic

PA-15    Charlie Dent    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

TX-07    John Culberson    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

TX-10    Michael McCaul    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

VA-05    Virgil Goode    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

VA-10    Frank Wolf    Solid Republican to Likely Republican

WV-02    Shelley Moore Capito    Likely Republican to Lean Republican

WY-AL    OPEN (Cubin)    Solid Republican to Likely Republican