Western races may hold key to Senate control

San Francisco Examiner ^ | Aug 31, 2010 | Susan Ferrechio

[SmartInsight]

While only a few political strategists are predicting a Republican takeover of the Senate in November, Democrats may, in fact, lose the Senate if they cannot win several key races in the West, where incumbents such as Washington's Patty Murray are fighting for their political lives against surprisingly strong GOP challengers.

Pollsters and political experts rate the Washington Senate race a tossup, which is hardly good news for Murray as she seeks a fourth term.

Other Democrats west of the Mississippi are also in difficult battles. In California, incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer is in a statistical tie with her Republican challenger, Carly Fiorina. Colorado's freshman Democrat, Sen. Michael Bennet, is trailing Republican Ken Buck by 9 points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is tied with Republican Sharron Angle in his bid for a seventh term.

[techno]

Sounds about right.

[counterpunch]

GOP picks up 12 FTW.

[Zakeet]

Quote of the day from the article: Murray has been unable to distance herself from the less popular Democratic legislation, in part because she helped create it.

[cookcounty]

And, technically, North Dakota and Arkansas are both west of the Mississippi, so let’s not forget those quick pickups.