Important US Senate Races of 2008

Minnesota (Republican Leaning):
R: Norm Colement (I)
D: Al Franken

While incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman is obviously a better choice than former Saturday Night Live writer and comedian Al Franken, he’s essentially just the lesser of two evils. Coleman is a flip-flopper who was a radically liberal Democrat when he was in college. Although people can change, Coleman has consistently had a record of liberal votes in the Senate. Still, he’s better than Franken, who can barely tie his shoelaces without blaming conservatives for something. Franken is also an incorrigible sexist, who unapologetically defends his chauvinistic statements as “satire.” In fact, Franken quickly yells “SATIRE!” whenever anybody articulates how his hurtful comments have offended them. Franken’s radically liberal radio collapsed, his radio station filed for bankruptcy in 2006, and, in April 2008, it was reported that Franken had yet to pay $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states. While Coleman is no conservative, he has towed the party line just enough to keep from subverting the conservative agenda.

**Mississippi (Democratic Leaning):
R: Roger Wiker (I)
D: Ronnie Musgrove

Democrats have targeted this Mississippi special election as the most important Senate race in the 2008 election cycle. Despite the state’s conservative-leaning constituency, Democrats believe interim Sen. Roger Wicker, who was appointed after the departure of Sen. Trent Lott, may not be the choice of Mississippi voters. Most recent polling has given former state Gov. Ronnie Musgrove a narrow lead, but the race remains a statistical dead heat. Wicker, a former US House member is running on a record of bi-partisan accomplishments in the areas of economic development and job growth. Wicker has been working to overcome the more than 51,000 manufacturing jobs and 38,000 non-farm jobs that were lost under Musgrove’s leadership as governor. Although Democrats are working hard to win this race, in the end, the pull of the “R” lever might just be too compelling for Mississippi voters to overcome.

Nebraska (Republican Favored):
R: Mike Johanns
D: Scott Kleeb

Even though Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel has stepped down, Nebraska is a historically red state, which no Democrat has won since 1964. Undaunted Democrats are committed to pouring resources into every state Senate race that has seen the departure of a Republican Senator. This might be a mistake in a state where George Bush defeated John Kerry by a two-to-one margin in 2004. In addition to its red-state history, Nebraska Republicans are fielding a highly qualified candidate in former Gov. Mike Johanns, who recently served as agriculture secretary in President Bush’s cabinet. Johanns was a popular governor, a son of a dairy farmer who worked hard for rural communities and farmers. Johanns opponent, Scott Kleeb is a cattle rancher with three graduate degrees from Yale. He lost his last race by more than 10 points when he ran for Nebraska’s open 3rd-District in 2006.

New Hampshire (Democratic Leaning):
R: John Sununu (I)
D: Jeanne Shaheen

In the last two years, New Hampshire Democrats have taken control of the state legislature and governor’s office for the first time in 100 years. There is a strong anti-Bush sentiment and it appears highly likely that Sen. John Sununu’s controversial legislative votes could put him out of office. Nevertheless, his opponent, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen not only raised taxes during her term as governor, she also invented new ones. She doubled state spending and broke her own “no new taxes” pledge by implementing the first statewide property tax. Shaheen was also defeated by Sununu the first time they met for the seat in 2002. As the youngest member of the US Senate, Sununu has distinguished himself from other Republicans (and conservatives). He was the first to call for Alberto Gonzalez’s resignation, for example, and he voted with Democrats on filibustering the PATRIOT act. If he loses, as predicted, conservatives will not have lost an ally.

New Mexico (Democratic Leaning):
R: Steve Pearce
D: Tom Udall

With Republican Pete Domenici stepping down in 2009, former Congressman Steve Pearce has stepped up to vie for the seat. Pearce is a veteran of both Vietnam and Washington, DC. Pearce served in the US House from 1996 to 2000 and from 2002 to present. He is an assistant Minority Whip, who owns a small oilfield services company. Pearce is running against former New Mexico Attorney General and current US House member Tom Udall. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because his cousin, Mark Udall, is running for Senate in Colorado. Although early polling has given Tom Udall the lead, he’s been embroiled in scandal lately, with 45 of his former AG staff members accusing him of paying female attorneys in his office as much as $3,200 less than their male counterparts. He’s also voted to raise taxes to provide benefits to illegal immigrants.

North Carolina (Republican Leaning):
R: Elizabeth Dole (I)
D: Kay Hagan

US Sen. Elizabeth Dole, currently serving her first term, has worked hard to support permanent tax relief. Although the early outlook for Democrats was favorable, North Carolina State Sen. Kay Hagan is not the candidate the party hoped to field. That candidate was Gov. Mike Easley. When Easley failed to run, Hagan easily won the Democratic primary, but her campaign has stuttered and finally come to a plateau. Even if she were to suddenly surge, however, Dole is unlikely to be unseated. Dole has tremendous name recognition, she’s a Ronald Reagan Republican and appointee (which endears her to the state’s conservative base) and North Carolina has voted Republican in the last seven elections. Add to that her work with state sheriff’s departments to develop the nation’s only plan to identify and process criminal aliens, her expansion of state military bases (which account for $18 billion of the state’s annual budget) and her efforts to reduce federal taxes, and Dole should feel confident about her first re-election attempt.

** Denotes the race that both Republicans and Democrats have tagged as the top priority for 2008