Update on US Senate Races

Three contests for US Senate seats remain undecided as of this writing: 

1. In Alaska, Democratic Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage trails Republican incumbent (and convicted felon) Ted Stevens by just over three thousand votes. At least 90,000 absentee and early votes remain to be counted. Late-breaking word from the Alaska Division of Elections indicates counting of these votes will begin as early as tomorrow. We shall see.

2. In Minnesota, Democrat Al Franken is some 200 votes behind Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in a race in which more than 2.8 million votes were cast. A legally mandated recount will be conducted, presumably by the end of November. As the recount process seems to be very rigorous and disciplined, the exact timing of the completed recount is not known with certainty at this time.

3. In Georgia, Democratic challenger Jim Martin will face Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in a run-off on December 2nd. 

All three of these races are critically important to expanding the Democratic majority in the new US Senate. Direct links to the campaign websites for Begich, Franken and Martin are located on the left side of this page. There is also a direct link to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) which can always use your help.

ElectBlue urges our readers to contact these campaigns and offer to help in whatever way possible. Hint: financial contributions are always appropriate. The Georgia run-off will be expensive. The on-going efforts to count all the votes in Alaska and Minnesota will most likely involve costly legal assistance. 

Please help Martin, Franken and Begich today!

GA Senate: Chambliss In Big Trouble

A seat in the US Senate with Saxby Chambliss' name on it is no longer safe. The Washington Post this morning has a write-up about Democrat Jim Martin and his sudden surge in polls. Exposing Chambliss as being at the "root of the problem," Martin continues to hammer away at his opponent's poor economic track record.

Martin has a clear momentum advantage and plenty enough time to make up what little margin he's behind. ElectBlue currently projects the race to be leaning Republican for the moment. Pollster.com projects the race as too close to call (chart below). Click here for Washington Times story.

ElectBlue Now Targeting Georgia Senate Race

We are pleased to add Georgia Democrat Jim Martin to our list of targeted US Senate candidates for this cycle. Martin is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss in the Peach State. Making economic issues the focal point of his campaign, Martin has surged in recent polls and now is tied with Chambliss in this critical race. Voter turnout and campaign funding will be crucial to a Martin victory.

A Democratic pick-up of the Georgia seat would be a huge step towards the sixty-seat Senate majority Dems need to prevent Republican obstruction of vital legislation in the next Congress. We urge out readers to support Jim Martin in whatever way they can. Note that we have added a direct link to the Martin Campaign website in the left margin of this page. Please click on it today to contribute to Jim's campaign.

Regrettably, we have removed Bob Tuke in Tennessee from our list of targeted candidates. Underfunded and lacking the support of a strong, united Democratic Party, the Tuke campaign has not gotten off the ground and appears to be only a pro forma effort. We still urge our Tennessee readers to vote for Tuke, a good and decent man, but we must advise Volunteer State Democrats that any financial contributions towards a sixty-seat Democratic majority in the US Senate would be better made to any one of the Democrats in hotly contested races in four states that border Tennessee: NC, GA, KY and MS.

Similarly, in spite of a valiant effort, Larry LaRocco's campaign for the US Senate appears to have hit a wall in rock-ribbed Republican Idaho. As we are doing in TN, we urge Idaho Democrats to vote for LaRocco, but suggest that contributions to Jeff Merkley's campaign in neighboring Oregon would better serve the goal of getting sixty Democrats in the Senate.