"the Senate is officially in play for the first time this cycle"

[Pirate Smile]

ON THE TRAIL: SENATE 2006 RACE RATINGS
Are Democrats Creeping Into Contention?

By Chuck Todd, NationalJournal.com
© National Journal Group Inc.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005

With just under 18 months to go until Election Day 2006, things continue to look up for Senate Democrats. The ingredients -- violence in Iraq, the uneven economy and partisan tension -- are there for the party to make a comeback after two cycles of GOP dominance.

Iraq, the number one issue for voters, is devouring the Republican Party. And with no new moment to look for that doesn't have the word "withdrawal" in it, it's hard to see how the situation improves before next November. We've caught Saddam Hussein, we've turned over power, we've held elections and the level of violence appears to be the same to the lay voter. We've been writing for months that at some point, Iraq was going to hurt the Republicans as much as it helped them in 2002. They lucked out in 2004, but 2006 is a whole new ballgame.

With at least six legitimate targets for the Democrats, the Senate is officially in play for the first time this cycle. We're not naïve. Minnesota and Maryland won't be easy for the party to defend. Add North Dakota and Democrats have their work cut out for them. But on the plus side, Republicans haven't found A-list recruits in places like Nebraska, Washington and Florida. While those three seats won't be easy for the Democrats to defend, things could be much worse.

And with that, our latest rankings. Remember, these seats are ranked in order of vulnerability to a party switch, i.e., the top-ranked race is the seat we view as most likely to flip to the other party, while the bottom-ranked race is the seat we see as the least likely:

Senate Ratings

more at the link:

http://nationaljournal.com/todd.htm

[AX10]

1. Why won't Maryland be easy to hold?

Forget Steele, we have the foundation of a strong party and the GOP is not that strong. Elrich is anything but safe next year.

[Pirate Smile]

2. Here is what the article says:

"Maryland's strong Democratic nature is the only thing keeping this race as low as fourth. Likely GOP nominee Michael Steele is the real deal, and the field of Democrats is underwhelming. The combination could be enough for Steele to pull off the near-impossible. At a minimum, this is going to be a real contest.

The Democrats' two best candidates -- Martin O'Malley and Doug Duncan -- are running for governor , leaving the party with a field of good, but not great, alternatives. Democratic Rep. Ben Cardin has all the respect in the world from his state colleagues, but he hasn't had a competitive race in nearly 25 years. Is he up for this? Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has plenty of problems that could worsen when the second quarter Federal Election Commission report is released. Rep. Chris Van Hollen is the wild card. He's the only battle-tested Democrat in the field. Van Hollen may have the best chops for what will be a very competitive general against Steele. "