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Early Bird Election Preview

May 5, 2008

DSCC: Loaded and Eyeing Last-Minute Upsets

The Democrats are coming! The Democrats are coming! With few seats to defend and a war chest that already dwarfs that of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and its chairman, Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), could be coming to a red state near you to disrupt what the GOP assumes should be some guaranteed victories come November.

Democrats’ Preparation for Open Seats Has Paid Off

In the political game of recruitment, it pays to be on offense. And that’s what Democrats say gave them a big advantage heading into the 2008 cycle, with an electoral playing field marked by a plethora of open-seat House races. When Republicans lost control of Congress, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee officials said they prepared for a huge wave of GOP retirements and recruited especially aggressively in those House districts.

The Few, the Proud, the Vulnerable

It’s a funny time for the “10 Most Vulnerable” franchise. Not that we can’t identify several House incumbents who are in political jeopardy this year, because there are plenty. It’s just that the battlegrounds where one party (Hint: It starts with a D) can make most of its gains are open-seat races.

New England

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont

Mid-Atlantic

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia

South

Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia

Midwest

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin

Plains

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota

Southwest

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas

Mountain

Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming

West

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington