Maybe more interesting than the Presidential race, the Senate elections are going to be fascinating. Lots of close races, and lots of Democrats close in races that should be blowouts by Republicans. 2006 was a banner year for Dems, so it was always assumed that this year would be a regression to the mean, both with the political landscape changing and the Dems mostly playing defense and few opportunities for gains. Earlier this year, the talk was about whether the GOP could regain control. Then, it moved to whether Dems could hold their current seats. Now, there's an outside possibility of actually gaining seats. The latest interesting news is in Nebraska, which had mostly been written off as an easy win. Kerrey has apparently pulled into mid-single digits in multiple polls, and this week gained the support of Alan Simpson (GOP Senator of Simpson-Bowles) and fairly popular Chuck Hagel. The Presidential turnout will likely make it harder for Kerrey, but that would be huge hold if they can save that seat. Between that, and crazy tea partiers and silly rape comments, the landscape is looking better for Dems. But that said, many candidates still trail by a few points, so it could be a huge missed opportunity for Dems or a huge relief for the GOP depending on how some of these races play out. My prediction is that many of these longshot Dems fall just shot - and the Dems end with 51 or 52 seats. Still, not a bad outcome if you're looking at it 6 months ago.
