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10 Senate Races to Watch

Dems could pick up 8 seats; GOP could oust Landrieu in La.

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 31, 2008 3:11 PM CDT

(Newser) – With 35 Senate seats up for grabs Tuesday, Chris Cillizza, in the Washington Post, predicts Democrats will flip eight. Two more are close calls for the Dems, while the GOP has one hope for a pickup. Starting with the most likely:

Virginia is in the bag for Mark Warner; he might even get 60% of the vote.
New Mexico will fall easily to Tom Udall...
...while his cousin, Mark Udall, has pulled away in Colorado.

Ted Stevens, now a convicted felon, will probably lose in Alaska to Mark Begich—but by a narrow margin.
The ugly New Hampshire race has settled in favor of Jeanne Shaheen, who should unseat John Sununu.
Kay Hagan looks poised for the upset of the night over North Carolina's Elizabeth Dole, whose attack ads have backfired.
In Oregon, GOP incumbent Gordon Smith has run several ads featuring Barack Obama—but privately his campaign thinks he'll lose to Jeff Merkley.
Norm Coleman and Al Franken are neck-and-neck in Minnesota; this should be the closest race of the night.
The shocker of the campaign is Georgia, where Saxby Chambliss and and Dem challenger Jim Martin may face a run-off thanks to a third-party nominee.
In Kentucky, GOP minority leader Mitch McConnell will probably survive, but the race has tightened.

Only Louisiana offers a possible GOP pickup: one poll says Mary Landrieu is tied with challenger John Kennedy.

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Virginia Democrat Mark Warner looks set to sweep to a Senate seat over Republican opponent Jim Gilmore, also a former governor. (AP Photo)

Mark Udall, D-Colo., left, and his cousin Tom Udall, D-N.M. are both running for the Senate. (AP Photos)

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, right, answers a question during a congressional debate in Anchorage, Alaska Thursday Oct. 30, 2008 as Democrat candidate Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich listens. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)

Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole is in a dogfight in North Carolina with state Sen. Kay Hagan. (AP Photo)

Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., speaks at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., as his Democratic opponent, former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, right, watches. (AP Photo/Pool, Cheryl Senter)

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An advertisement for Elizabeth Dole which insinuates that her opponent, Kay Hagan, said "There is no God." The ad has been roundly condemned and has helped Hagan in the race. (Dole4Senate)

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10 Senate Races to Watch