Congressional Race Watching Guide

[wvrevy]

Since control of the Senate and House is up for grabs in today's election, I thought I would put this up for everyone to see. Essentially, there are a number of races that are already decided (nobody is beating Robert Byrd in my home state, for example). This means that there are a limited number of seats in each house up for grabs. This list of seats concentrates only on those races that are considered "toss ups" by the press heading into election day:

SENATE RACES
(Dems need to win 11 of these 13 to take control of Senate)
Arizona (Pederson v. Kyl)
Maryland (Cardin v. Steele)
Michigan (Stabenow v. Bouchard)
Minnesota (Klobuchar v. Kennedy)
Missouri (McCaskill v. Talent)
Montana (Tester v. Burns)
New Jersey (Menendez v. Kean, Jr.)
Ohio (Brown v. Dewine)
Pennsylvania (Casey v. Santorum)
Rhode Island (Whitehouse v. Chafee)
Tennessee (Ford v. Corker)
Virginia (Webb v. Allen)
Washington (Cantwell v. McGavick)

HOUSE RACES
(Dems need to win 25 of these 60 to take control of House of Representatives)
(State - Districts)
Arizona - 1,5,8
California - 4,11,50
Colorado - 4,5,7
Connecticut - 4,5,7
Florida - 13,16,22
Georgia - 8,12
Idaho - 1
Illinois - 6,8,17
Indiana - 2,8,9
Iowa - 1
Kansas - 2
Kentucky - 2,4
Louisiana - 3
Minnesota - 1,6
Nebraska - 3
Nevada - 2
New Hampshire - 2
New Mexico - 1
New York - 13, 20, 24, 25, 26
North Carolina - 11
Ohio - 1, 2, 6, 13, 15, 18
Pennsylvania - 4, 6, 7, 8, 10
Texas - 17, 22
Vermont - At Large
Virginia - 2
Washington - 8
Wisconsin - 8
Wyoming - At Large

These are the races to watch across the country today. Unless there are major upsets along the way, these will be the races that will decide the balance of power in congress for the next two years.

 

[wvrevy]

Wanted to bounce this with the new, more accurate, thread title.

 

[yeartolate]

At this point I am less concerned who wins - more concerned with getting my phone back.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Thanks for compiling all the info in one place Hope this stays bumped throughout the day.

 

[Laz]

At this point I am less concerned who wins - more concerned with getting my phone back.

Same goes for my TV and Radio! I would rather hear and see the commercials with smiling Bob and male enhancement!

 

[yeartolate]

Same goes for my TV and Radio! I would rather hear and see the commercials with smiling Bob and male enhancement!

 

[bsnyder]

The magic number for the Dems to take control of the House is 15, not 25, as is referenced in the OP.

And that's net of any offsetting Dem losses. The Republicans best pickup opportunities are the two Georgia races.

 

[crcormier]

Everybody VOTE!

It's our one job requirement to be a US Citizen!

 

[bsnyder]

Everybody VOTE!

I'll second that!!!

 

[Alicnwondrln]

yeah the phone stuff has been crazy this year

the FBI is already investigation voter intimidation in VA and problems are propping up everywhere

 

[wvrevy]

The magic number for the Dems to take control of the House is 15, not 25, as is referenced in the OP.

No, it's not. Dems need to pick up 15 seats, but of the 60 House races listed, they need 25 wins.

And that's net of any offsetting Dem losses. The Republicans best pickup opportunities are the two Georgia races.

Gee...wonder if that's why it said - in the OP - "barring any major upsets". The two Georgia races you mention are the two already listed in the original post.

 

[bsnyder]

No, it's not. Dems need to pick up 15 seats, but of the 60 House races listed, they need 25 wins.

Gee...wonder if that's why it said - in the OP - "barring any major upsets". The two Georgia races you mention are the two already listed in the original post.

Sorry, didn't see that in the OP - I was just trying to make my post clear.

Maybe you could do the same with yours - why are you saying they need 25 wins to take control of the House?

 

[wvrevy]

Sorry, didn't see that in the OP - I was just trying to make my post clear.

Maybe you could do the same with yours - why are you saying they need 25 wins to take control of the House?

Because the races I listed were all shown as "too close to call" coming into today, and they included several that were already held by Democrats. They need to hold those seats as well as pick up an additional 15 from the remaining 45 on the list...or, they could pick up one for every one seat they currently hold but lose today.

Those 60 races are the ones that will decide the balance. All of the other races are pretty much in the bag at this point for one side or another. This isn't a "target" list, just one for everyone - in both parties - to kind of "keep score" tonight while watching the returns. If the Dems get to 11 out of those 13 in the senate, or 25 of those 60 in the House, they win control, whereas the Republicans only need 3 to hold the senate but 36 to hold the House.

Make sense?

 

[jakenjess]

Makes perfect sense. Maine is one of those states where it's pretty much in the bag. The Dems will hold the House seats, but nobody is going to beat Snowe and take over that Rep. senate seat (unfortunately).