If there's anything we regret about this election season, it's the fact that the presidential race has sucked up so much oxygen from the otherwise incredible dynamic in the battle for the Senate. More than one dozen battles royales are playing themselves out across the country, where Republican retirements have opened up five seats, and some other Republican incumbents are in tight races to defend their seats.
And that brings us to #4 on our list of Senate races to watch: Â New Hampshire, where the Republican incumbent, Sen. John Sununu, is facing a strong challenge from the state's former governor, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Â
This is a re-match for these two, who met in the 2002 race that Sununu won. Â As is the case in many of the 2008 Senate races, association with the Bush administration is weighing Sununu down in his state, where Independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans. Â The war in Iraq and the Patriot Act have been particularly unpopular in the "Live Free or Die" state, which explains this commercial from Sununu, which at first seems like an ad for a Democrat:Â
Jeanne Shaheen, on the other hand, is painting the moderate Sununu as a close ally of George Bush. Â She's nine points ahead in the Real Clear Politics' average of state polls, and has out-raised Sununu for the race. Â Here is how she's describing Sununu:
For more on the race, see Sununu's website HERE, Shaheen's website HERE, and CQ's write-up on the whole thing HERE. Â
If there's anything we regret about this election season, it's the fact that the presidential race has sucked up so much oxygen from the otherwise incredible dynamic in the battle for the Senate. More than one dozen battles royales are playing themselves out across the country, where Republican retirements have opened up five seats, and some other Republican incumbents are in tight races to defend their seats.
And that brings us to #4 on our list of Senate races to watch: Â New Hampshire, where the Republican incumbent, Sen. John Sununu, is facing a strong challenge from the state's former governor, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen. Â
This is a re-match for these two, who met in the 2002 race that Sununu won. Â As is the case in many of the 2008 Senate races, association with the Bush administration is weighing Sununu down in his state, where Independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans. Â The war in Iraq and the Patriot Act have been particularly unpopular in the "Live Free or Die" state, which explains this commercial from Sununu, which at first seems like an ad for a Democrat:Â
Jeanne Shaheen, on the other hand, is painting the moderate Sununu as a close ally of George Bush. Â She's nine points ahead in the Real Clear Politics' average of state polls, and has out-raised Sununu for the race. Â Here is how she's describing Sununu:
For more on the race, see Sununu's website HERE, Shaheen's website HERE, and CQ's write-up on the whole thing HERE. Â