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 A Rasmussen poll on February 19 of 500 likely voters found that former governor Mark Warner (D) now holds a 20% lead over his Republican challenger Jim Gilmore, with Warner at 57% and Gilmore at 37%.

   In a telephone poll on February 13, Rasmussen Reports found that 49% of 500 likely voters support former Governor Jeanne Shaheen (D) for the 2008 Senate seat. Incumbent John Sununu is still not looking too healthy in this race pulling only 41% (down 2% from a 9/18/07 poll, as compared to Shaheen's 1% increase since then). Like any incumbent who falls below the 50% mark, Sununu is in trouble if Shaheen's trend continues.

   In a telephone poll of 500 likely Colorado voters taken on February 11, Rasmussen Reports found that Republican nominee Bob Schaffer holds a lead at 44% over Democrat Mark Udall's 43%. Both have gained little since the November 28, 2007 poll that put Schaffer at 42% and Udall at 41%. With this seat once belonging to Republican Wayne Allard, and with numbers like this, it looks like the GOP is going to have to put up a fight to keep the seat red.

In the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina, Louisiana witnessed the exodus of citizens, primarily minorities, out of the state. Politically, both Democrats and Republicans took notice; the former had relied on the minority vote since the Reconstruction era, the latter saw a chance to take the reigns of power in a state that was already increasingly turning red. In August, after much courting by Karl Rove, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and LA junior Senator David Vitter, State Treasurer John N. Kennedy decided to switch party affiliation from the Dems to the Republicans. The switch, many feel, is the casting of Kennedy into the senatorial bid for 2008 against incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu. Landrieu is considered, at least by the right, to be the more likely of Democrats to lose their seat in 2008. Now, with the political craftsmanship of Rove and the NRSC behind him, Kennedy may soon fully commit himself to a Senate bid, throwing in the towel for re-election to his State Treasurer incumbency. If Kennedy switched parties solely for this Senate race, then Louisiana voters will certainly take notice. Get ready for an exciting race folks!

Source: Washington Post

The 3rd Quarter was supposed to be big in terms of Coleman's fundraising campaign for Senate in 2008. The GOP thought it wise to pull out the big guns in the form of a ritzy dinner with President Bush, a certain money maker, or so one would think. Coleman's camp released their quarter numbers, $1.7 million raised, the Bush dinner estimated to have raised $1 million in a single night. The shocker came when Franken's campaign released their quarter numbers, $1.89 million. The incumbent Sen. Coleman still enjoys a slight lead over Franken in the polls, but could these numbers indicate a campaign heading south for Coleman?

In an April 2007 Critical Insights on Maine poll, likely state voters reinforced what was generally already known about Maine, it usually goes red. Incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins has been named a "Republican in Name Only" for her retreat from the White House ideology on abortion and AWNR oil drilling (huge supporter of the Iraq War though). While her views on abortion may help her garner some centrist Democrats, Tom Allen is likely going to come in strong as a left leaning Dem (and will probably come under fire for the $250,000 MoveOn.org has graced his campaign with). Political squabbling aside, lets let the numbers speak for themselves:

If the election were held today, who would you vote for?

All Respondents: 57% Collins, 30% Allen

Likely Voters: 57% Collins, 32% Allen

Democrats: 35% Collins, 54% Allen

Republicans: 86% Collins, 8% Allen

Independents: 65% Collins, 23% Allen

In a September poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, 1,230 New Jersey voters gave the following responses regarding incumbent Sen. "Old Man" Lautenberg, a possible Republican challenge, and a pitiful show of unrelenting ageism.

Would you vote for Lautenberg over a generic Republican challenger? 39% yes, 36% no

Lautenberg job approval: 42% approve, 34% disapprove

Does Lautenberg deserve re-election in 2008?: 46% yes, 36% no

Is the Senator too old to serve another 6 years effectively? 54% yes, 40% no

Is the Senator too old, according to Republicans? 62% yes, 30% no

Is the Senator too old, according to Independents? 55% yes, 42% no

Is the Senator too old, according to Democrats? 47% yes, 48% no

 MoE: +/- 2.8 percentage points

With John Warner throwing in the towel, the once safe Republican Senate seat for Virginia is being contested. Democratic favorite and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner is making an early,, though impressive, showing. In a September Rasmussen Reports poll, Warner was shown leading GOP challengers by at least 20% each. With such an early lead and poor showing by the Republicans one has to beg the question, will the Ol' Party be pullin out the big guns to keep this seat red come next year?

While it is still much too ealy to call, these polls from SurveyUSA, show incumbent Senator Coleman with a slight lead over all the competition (Coleman/Cohen: 49%/37%, Coleman/Ciresi: 48%/42%). However, Franken was defeated in an identical poll 5 months ago by Coleman by a margin of 22%. A lot has changed, with Coleman only beating Franken by 7% in this recent poll. Also, it is never a good sign for an incumbent when they fall below 50% approval this early in the race. With the Republicans screaming "Socialist!", Franken's camp linking Coleman to the Bush administration every chance they get, and the poll numbers getting uncomfortably close, this is bound to be quite a Senate race.