As we breathe a sigh of relief that the primaries are all finished, and the nominees identified, it is important to take note of the way the character of the election cycle as seen from various perspectives. It is, after all, not only the healthcare goals of a presidential figure that will determine the direction of healthcare reforms, but also the makeup of the Senate, the House of Representatives and of course, the governors who will be elected in November.
Some of my colleagues at Fleishman-Hillard recently issued a new guide to the 2008 Senate Elections. There are 35 seats up for grabs, 33 regular seats and 2 special election slots. While the current makeup of the Senate is 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans with two independent members caucusing with Democrats, the new Senate may look much different given the fact that nearly twice as many Republican seats are up for election than Democrat seats – 23 Republican, 12 Democrats. In addition, the authors note, 5 Republican senators have announced they will not seek re-election, while no Democrats have so indicated. Combine that with the current dismal approval ratings for the status quo as represented by President Bush, and one can easily see that there is a great potential for change.
This guide looks at each race, who is running, what the most recent polling data shows and in short, is an extremely excellent reference guide on the upcoming Senate elections.
