Monday, March 23, 2009

Candidates already lining up for 2010 Senate election

Candidates already lining up for 2010 Senate election; Freep.com

The 2010 Senate elections may seem far away, but candidates are lining up and money is being raised for what will be an important test: Can Democrats get the 60 seats they need to keep Republicans from blocking legislation?

Because of presidential appointments and temporary fill-ins, there will be 37 Senate seats up for grabs next year -- three or four more than normal.

But the political geography will look very familiar.

Many of the closest races are likely to be in states that have been battlegrounds in recent presidential elections. They include:

• Perennial swing states Ohio, Missouri and Florida.

• Newer battlegrounds such as Colorado, New Hampshire and Nevada.

Republicans hope to pick off Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada in a repeat of their 2004 defeat of then-Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.

Twenty of the 37 seats up are held by Republicans. Of the 10 Senate races that look the closest, seven are held by Republicans.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ouch.

JohnJ