Early in the year, the Republicans couldn't control their glee at the possibility of picking up as many as five Senate seats in the South, which has become increasingly Republican over the years. But a funny thing happened on the way to the election. The voters had different ideas. Not only are the Democrats holding four of the five seats in the South, but they are leading in all three formerly Republican seats. They are also leading in the only two really contested seats in which an incumbent might lose: Alaska and South Dakota.
If the Senate election were held today, the Democrats would take control of the Senate, 52-48 (counting independent Sen. Jeffords as a Democrat, since he caucuses with the Democrats). And this realignment does not take into account the possibility that Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) might pull a Jeffords and jump ship. He is from a hugely Democratic state and, like Zell Miller, would be much more appreciated in the other party. The only reason Chafee hasn't switched is out of a sense of duty to his late father, John Chafee, who was a respected Republican senator from RI. Here is the current polls. For more details about the individual races, see the Senate page.
State Democrat (pct) Republican (pct)
Alaska Tony Knowles (47%) Lisa Murkowski (41%)
Colorado Ken Salazar (50%) Pete Coors (46%)
Florida Betty Castor (49%) Mel Martinez (43%)
Georgia Denise Majette (37%) Johnny Isakson (53%)
Illinois Barack Obama (68%) Alan Keyes (17%)
Louisiana "John" (47%) David Vitter (44%)
North Carolina Erskine Bowles (45%) Richard Burr (44%)
Oklahoma Brad Carson (44%) Tom Coburn (37%)
South Carolina Inez Tenenbaum (46%) Jim DeMint (43%)
South Dakota Tom Daschle (48%) John Thune (46%)
http://www.electoral-vote.com/