With such a huge presidential
election coming up in a
few weeks, it is no surprise
that most people have forgotten
that there are elections in
the legislative branch as well.
U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives elections
occur every two years.
Senators have six-year terms,
while congressmen have 2-
year terms. This year, we
have 35 senate seats at stake;
23 of those seats belong to the
Republicans while just 12
belong to Democrats.
Even better news for the
Democrats is that not one of
those 12 seats is in play;
meaning that the Democratic
candidates should easily be
able to win. Of the
Republicans’ 23 seats, 11 seats
are likely to be in play.
Therefore, the Democrats
could boost their senate stock
all the way past 60 seats. This
is important because if one
party has 60-plus seats in the
senate then they can pass any
bill that they want without
opposition from the other
party.
Some of the key U.S. Senate
races are in Alaska,
Minnesota, Mississippi and
North Carolina. In Sarah
Palin’s home state, longtime
incumbent Republican Sen.
Ted Stevens is slightly trailing
Democratic Anchorage
Mayor Mark Begich. This race
is close because of Stevens’
recent indictment for not disclosing
his finances correctly.
In Minnesota, incumbent
Republican Norm Coleman is
staving off a late surge by
Democratic challenger Al
Franken. Coleman won the
seat in 2002 by a small margin
when his opponent was killed
in a plane crash. Franken is a
former comedian and
Saturday Night Live cast
member. Recent polling
shows a very close race.
In Mississippi, Republican
Roger Wicker is seeking to
win his first full term after
being appointed by Governor
Haley Barbour to replace the
retiring Trent Lott. Wicker
will be facing off against
Democratic former Gov.
Ronnie Musgrove. This is
normally considered a very
safe Republican state, but
with the challenger already
having won a statewide election
and with Wicker having
not, it’s an extreme tossup.
Finally, we come down to
North Carolina. This was a
senate race that was not supposed
to be close. However,
Barack Obama’s success in
the state along with the growing
issues with the economy
has helped the Democrats
here. Republican Sen.
Elizabeth Dole was expected
to cruise to reelection.
However, Democratic state
Sen. Kay Hagan has closed
the gap considerably, and
even has a lead in some polls.
A victory here could easily
propel the Democrats
towards their 60 senate seat
goal.
As of right now, it appears
that the Democrats are likely
to have 59 seats in the senate
when this election is over.
Along with the states mentioned
already, races in
Virginia, Maine, New
Hampshire, Oregon, New
Mexico and Colorado are all
extremely close and should
be kept an eye on.
Remember, it’s not all about
the presidential race, and the
real change could be made
through the elections of the
legislative branch.