The Nifty Fifty Senate Party

This is the other "Bonus Page", focused on this year's Senate elections. There will be no S-Factors (and no predictions), since red states can have conservative Democrats in the Senate and blue states may have liberal Republicans in the same body.

Here's an explanation: With Democrats only maintaining a bare 51-49 majority, the Donkey Brigade is now aiming for a filibuster-proof majority, a possibility that has increased with numerous GOP retirements and irregularities.

Alabama: Jeff Sessions was first elected in 1996 to succeed Howell Heflin. His Democrat opponent is State Senator Vivian Davis Figures.

Alaska: Seen as the poster child for wasteful spending in the U.S. Senate, Ted Stevens has now been indicted on seven counts related to lobbying controversies. However, Alaska's "Uncle Ted" just won his primary, and will have to defend himself against Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, whose father Nick Begich was the last Democrat to represent Alaska in the House.

Arkansas: Mark Pryor came to the Senate in 2002 by defeating incumbent Republican Tim Hutchinson in a battle of two Arkansas political families (Pryor's father was a former Governor who served in this Senate seat before Hutchinson did; Hutchinson's brother ran for Governor in 2006). The Republicans won't be fielding a candidate this time around.

Colorado: This is one of the marquee Senate races, situated in the Donkey Brigade's big beacon for 2008. Wayne Allard is choosing to honor his self-imposed term limits and is retiring from the Senate. Two Congressmen, one current, one former, will be dueling it out. The Democrats have current Boulder-area Congressman Mark Udall, and the Republicans offer former Fort Collins-area Congressman Bob Schaffer. For most of the race, Udall has been leading in polls.

Delaware: Joe Biden is now Barack Obama's running mate, and if Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States, Biden will leave the Senate (and his post as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) behind. If John McCain becomes President, Biden will be heavily favored to return to the Senate over media consultant/analyst Christine O'Donnell.

Georgia: Saxby Chambliss first came to the Senate in 2002 after defeating incumbent Democrat Max Cleland, a triple amputee and decorated Vietnam veteran who was juxtaposed in ads alongside Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. A conservative Republican, Chambliss is favored to win over former State Human Resources Commissioner Jim Martin, but a recent poll could suggest a competitive race.

Idaho: Larry Craig was thought to be a lock for re-election last year. However, in June 2007, Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport after he was caught soliticing sex in a men's restroom. Pressured to resign, Craig instead decided to 'wide stance' himself out of his re-election bid. Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch, the Republican nominee, will be favored over former Congressman Larry LaRocco.

Illinois: Lost in all this Obamamania is Illinois' other U.S. Senator, Dick Durbin, the Senate Majority Whip. Durbin is heavily favored for another term against physician Steve Sauerberg.

Iowa: Tom Harkin, who chairs the Agriculture Committee in the Senate, will be strongly favored against businessman and Navy veteran Christopher Reed.

Kansas: In what is one of the most Republican states in the country, Pat Roberts is heavily favored over former Congressman Jim Slattery. Even the polling numbers have been trending towards Roberts (Roberts led 52-40 in May, but the same firm has him at 56-37 as of August).

Kentucky: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has fallen into a cloudy mist. His state voted out its Republican Governor. His Senate colleague (Jim Bunning) will be vulnerable in 2010. And his party's minority status is likely to become even more profound after November. Healthcare services entrepreneur and two-time gubernatorial candidate Bruce Lunsford is challenging McConnell. However, McConnell has generally led Lunsford in the polls.

Louisiana: Mary Landrieu is the most vulnerable Democrat in this cycle, as her home state has been the center of controversy surrounding Hurricane Katrina and has elected a Republican governor (Bobby Jindal). State Treasurer and ex-Democrat John Kennedy (no relation to the Cape Cod dynasty) is the GOP nominee.

Maine: Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, will be facing off against Congressman Tom Allen. It is one of the most competitive races in the country, but Allen has not broken past Collins in polls as the race drops in competitiveness nationally.

Massachusetts: John Kerry failed to capture the White House in 2004, but he will be heavily favored over Jeff Beatty (hopefully, in 2014 the GOP will seriously contest this seat).

Michigan: Carl Levin is a very powerful man in Washington. He is the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. State Representative Jack Hoogendyk will try, but the polling and fundraising numbers are hard to match.

Minnesota: This is another top-tier race to watch. After the tragic death of liberal Senator Paul Wellstone in 2002, 1984 DFL (that's how Minnesota calls its Democrats) presidential nominee Walter Mondale stepped in to run against St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman. Coleman ended up narrowly winning the race, and succeeded Dean Barkley, who was appointed by then-Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura to fill the remainder of Wellstone's term. Coleman is running for re-election, Barkley is running for the seat on the Independence Party (which spawned Ventura) ticket, and the DFL has recruited former radio talk show host, writer and commentator Al Franken to run. Coleman appears vulnerable, but polling for the most part has been going his way. This is not surprising as Franken has shown quite some flak (i.e. he owed $70K in back income taxes last April...in 17 states).

Mississippi (Class I): Mississippi is in an unusual situation. There will be two Senate races (one general, one special) this year. In this seat, Trent Lott resigned last December to start up a lobbying firm (with former Louisiana U.S. Senator John Breaux). Northern Mississippi Congressman Roger Wicker was appointed to fill the vacancy, and is now facing former Governor Ronnie Musgrove. At first seen as a competitive race due to Musgrove's statewide profile (versus Wicker's relative deficit), Wicker has started to pull away, but Musgrove remains competitive.

Mississippi (Class II): The other Mississippi Senate race is a no-brainer. Thad Cochran is heavily favored over former State Representative Erik Fleming.

Montana: Max Baucus is heavily favored over 85-year-old perennial candidate Bob Kelleher, who supports a nationalized oil and gas industry, single-payer health care, and other liberal ideals.

Nebraska: Former Governor and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns is the GOP nominee and will be heavily favored over rancher and 2006 congressional candidate Scott Kleeb to succeed independent-minded Republican Chuck Hagel, who is retiring.

New Hampshire: Incumbent John Sununu was first elected in 2002 to serve as one of two Senators to what is perhaps the most conservative state in New England. However, the state has shifted towards the Democrats in part because of the national GOP's excessive pandering to the Vocal Fringe, and Sununu in particular has mediocre support. Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen, the Democrat nominee both in 2002 and again in 2008, has led in virtually every poll.

New Jersey: Senator Frank Lautenberg is perhaps one of the weakest Democrats up for re-election this year. After turning back a challenge from Congressman Rob Andrews, Lautenberg will now face former Congressman Dick Zimmer. Lautenberg is favored, but polling suggests a potentially competitive race.

New Mexico: When longtime Senator Pete Domenici announced his retirement last October due to a degenerative brain disease, it eventually led to all of New Mexico's congressional seats opening up with Heather Wilson, Steve Pearce and Tom Udall all giving up their seats. Now, Pearce has defeated Wilson in the GOP primary, and Udall has lead Pearce in virtually all general election polls.

North Carolina: Elizabeth Dole, the wife of former Kansas U.S. Senator and 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole, was first elected in 2002 and has mediocre approval ratings. The Democrats have nominated State Senator Kay Hagan to challenge Dole, and recent polling suggests a competitive race. In fact, the most recent poll has Hagan leading Dole by three points, whereas most past polls showed Dole leading by single- and even double-digit margins.

Oklahoma: Conservative incumbent Jim Inhofe will be favored for re-election against State Senator Andrew Rice, who could be a dark horse in this year's Senate elections.

Oregon: Incumbent Senator Gordon Smith is seeking re-election against Democrat and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley. This is expected to be a competitive race as Smith is the only GOP Senator on the west coast. Former National Endowment for the Arts chair John Frohnmayer entered the race last year but later dropped out due to fundraising issues; his candidacy would have drawn votes from Merkley. A Rasmussen poll from July showed Merkley leading Smith 43-41, but otherwise Smith has led in all polls with the most recent Rasmussen poll showing Smith ahead by six points.

Rhode Island: Jack Reed is heavily favored in this strongly Democrat state against GOP nominee Robert Tingle.

South Carolina: First-term Republican Lindsey Graham, who succeeded long Strom Thurmond in 2002, will be heavily favored over Democratic attorney Bob Conley.

South Dakota: When Tim Johnson was hospitalized in December 2006 with a brain condition, the future of his Senate seat (and control of the Senate) was in doubt. Now having bounced back, Johnson, who defeated eventual Senate colleague John Thune by only 524 votes, is heavily favored to win another term over State Representative Joel Dykstra.

Tennessee: Lamar Alexander is a Republican stalwart in Tennessee. He has served as Governor, U.S. Secretary of Education and ran for President twice (in 1996 and again in 2000). Now finishing up his first term in the Senate, Alexander will be heavily favored to win another term over former Tennessee Democratic Party chair Bob Tuke.

Texas: John Cornyn is wrapping up his first term as my home state's junior Senator after serving one term as Texas' Attorney General (the first two years of which were under George W. Bush). While Cornyn's extensive ties to Bush 43 have hurt him somewhat in polls (though a majority of Texans view him favorably), he is still favored to win over State Representative Rick Noriega.

Virginia: Since 1979, John Warner has honorably served the Old Dominion in the U.S. Senate. His retirement makes this seat one of the Democrats' top prospects for a pickup, the result of who the parties are offering up this year. The Democrats netted perhaps their strongest U.S. Senate recruit nationally in popular former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (no relation to John). The Republicans had a more muddied course, with moderate Congressman Tom Davis arguing for a primary that would benefit the more moderate Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. while former Governor and one-time 2008 presidential candidate Jim Gilmore (whom Mark Warner succeeded in 2001) argued for a convention which he argued would save candidates money. By a 47-37 vote, the Virginia GOP opted for a convention; convention delegates in Virginia mostly come from the ultra-conservative wing which would have despised Davis due to his moderate views. Given Northern Virginia's relatively newfound status as the key to victory in Virginia and Gilmore's tepid support among voters (in fact, Gilmore barely won the GOP nomination for this race to State Delegate Bob Marshall by 65 votes -- less than a percentage point), Mark Warner is now favored to win John Warner's newly opened U.S. Senate seat.

West Virginia: Jay Rockefeller has served in the unlikeliest of situations: he is part of a traditionally moderate-to-liberal Republican dynasty, previously worked in the Peace Corps under John F. Kennedy, and not only moved to West Virginia when he was part of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA, a precursor of sorts to AmeriCorps), he even served as Governor from 1976 until he joined the U.S. Senate in 1984. Former State Senator and 1988/2002 United States Senate nominee Jay Wolfe will try.

Wyoming (Class I): Senator Craig Thomas died from complications due to leukemia on June 4, 2007, and State Senator John Barrasso was tapped to succeed Thomas. Attorney Nick Carter barely edged Casper city councilman Keith Goodenough to win the Democratic nomination, but Barrasso should be safe.

Wyoming (Class II): Mike Enzi is heavily favored for another term against University of Wyoming instructor Chris Rothfuss. Not a surprise.

Next stop: New Jersey.