Senate 08 – Fill in the Blanks

There are still many Senate races that are up in the air, without a Democratic challenger, or without the preferred Democratic challenger.  I thought it would be interesting to get a pulse on what the SSP community has in mind, as far as predictions on how these races will develop in the coming months.

As I see it, there are currently four races where the Democratic candidates are, for all intents and purposes, agreed upon:

Colorado – Mark Udall
Maine – Tom Allen
Idaho – Larry La Rocco
Oklahoma – Andrew Rice

I believe there are also currently three races where the primary is already set and will look exactly like it does now on primary day:

Texas – Noriega v. Watts
Minnesota – Franken v. Ciresi
Oregon – Merkley v. Novick

The “Unknowns” are:

New Hampshire – Does Shaheen jump in?  If so, do the other three all jump out?

Virginia – Sure Warner is retiring, but is it a certainty that our Warner decides to run?

Nebraska – What the hell?  If Hagel retires, does Kerrey get in or does Fahey?  Is it possible that both would decline on a Hagel-less race and pass the torch to Kleeb already?

Corruption:

Alaska – The possibility that Stevens will face an aggressive primary challenge is looming large.  Will Begich decide to go for it?  Will Stevens just decide to call it quits?

New Mexico – Is Don Wiviott really who Democrats are going to rally behind?  Is the possibility of Madrid getting in the race almost gone?  Is a Chavez/Denish gubernatorial primary already set, or will one get in this one?

Southern seats:

Kentucky – Stumbo seems to be itching for a fight and give Mitch some hell.  Will KY Dems let him have at it, or will Charlie Owen and Andrew Horne get in the mix too?

North Carolina – Easley, Cooper and Miller are all no-go’s, earlier talk seemed to surround Grier Martin or Kay Hagan making the challenge – what happened there?  Is an announcement coming from either, or will NC Dems have to find another prospect to challenge Liddy?

Mississippi – Does everyone agree that Cochran is staying put? Damn.

Competitive, or not?
Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, Kansas, Wyoming 1 and 2:  Do any of these get top Democrats to compete, or are these the sacrificial lamb races?  Will Sparks rethink his earlier statements regarding the race?  Do Dems decide to let their progress in Kansas stall and not put up an aggressive challenger to Roberts?

I’m really just curious what everyone thinks these 22 races will look like on, let’s say, New Year’s.  Who gets in, who gets out, and which Repubs will ultimately get a pass.  Also, which Dems have the edge in their respective primary races.

Thanks and I look forward to the responses!