Georgia's Runoff

Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin have both been trying to get the turnout up here. Chambliss, who got 110,000 more votes than Martin on election day, is easily the clear favorite. He might even win by more in the runoff due to depressed Democratic turnout. Many people who were fired up for Obma probably won't be for Martin. The Republicans however still have something to unite against; the 60th Democratic Senate Seat. Although it is easily possible for Martin to still win, especially if he has Barack Obama campaigning for him, Chambliss is definitely ahead.

Chuck Hagel?

I think Chuck Hagel would have made a great Secretary of State. He is retiring so he is not tied down anywhere like Kerry, Richardson, or Hillary. He is a great foreign policy expert and it is probably the point where he is strongest at and where Obama is weakest. Hagel fully supported Obama in the campaign, and was even one of the two senators who came with him on his trip to Europe in the summer.

Most of all Chuck Hagel is a great Republican, and would be a great step towards showing the true bipartisanship that Obama has promised all along. Obama's staffers have said though, that he is not among the ones being considered for the job. It seems likely it will go to Clinton, Richardson, Kerry, or former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. This doesn't mean that Hagel won't fit in in some other part of the administration, but I think Secretary of State would fit him best.

2010 Hot Senate Races

Some more Senate Races in 2010 that I think are particularly important.

Nevada- My personal favorite in 2010. In my opinion it will be this race that will show how great of a job Obama and the democratic congress did in its first two years. It is this race that shows the best pickup opportunity for the Republicans. If Reid can survive and get re-elected despite his low approval ratings than Obama did an at least better than passable job and met up with some of the sky high expectations of him. If not, well, Obama still might have been a good president but not one that would go down in history as have Lincoln, Jefferson, and Ike.

South Dakota- John Thune has got this locked up unless Tom Daschle runs against him once more. However Tom Daschle was recently announced to be on Obama's shortlist for Secretary of State. If he is chosen then I don't really see any Democrat in South Dakota strong enough to oppose Thune.

Begich Winning Alaska

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich has pulled ahead of convicted felon, Ted Stevens in the hotly contested Alaska senate race. This has been a strange race, where apparently there was absolutely no pollster who could come even close to predicting this race. The polls after Steven's conviction a few days before November 4th, had Begich in the lead by 8-22 points.

Though now it looks like Begich will at least pull through by a small margin. Then there will only be the two uncalled seats left in Minnesota and Georgia. Democrats need both of them for the magic number of 60 seats. That is if Lieberman stays caucusing with Democrats. In my opinion 60 does not really matter because you will almost always have defections on all sides. Joe Lieberman to the Republicans. Olymbia Snowe, Susan Collins, and Norm Coleman to the Democrats. If you have 62-63 or so seats it will become truly filibuster proof.

In other news the four candidates for secretary of state are Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, and Bill Richardson. It will be interesting to see who gets chosen, especially if it is Hillary.

By the way the reason I didn't post last night or the night before was because on Tuesdays I have Karate almost all night and on Wednesdays I have bass guitar.

Senate 2010 Hot Races

Based on small amounts of polling data and voting histories this is what I have arrived on for a very preliminary Senate 2010 Map. Some of the races should be very interesting. I'll go over all of the Senate races in the next few weeks but these two are two that stick out and deserve a paragraph or two right now.

Arizona- A familiar face is up for re-election. John McCain should be coasting to re-election in a state such as Arizona, but the only recent poll shows him trailing Governor Janet Napolitano by eight points. It is still very much up in the air with two years to go and with a pollster which was very erratic during the 2008 election cycle.

Of course she has not actually said she would run yet and if she does not then John McCain will almost definitely be re-elected comfortably.

Colorado- Ken Salazar will probably be easily re-elected come election time. His approval ratings are high, and there aren't many serious Republican contenders. The reason that he only leans democratic though is because the most recent poll suggests that he is only leading Bill Owens by three points. It was done by a Democratic pollster at that.

Minnesota Senate Race

The hotly contested race between incumbent Republican, Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, is down now to just 206 votes. There have already been a few human errors reported and the numbers seem to be moving steadily in Franken's direction. By the time the official recount begins in Mid-November, Franken may actually lead Coleman.

This race has already been thrown up into the air by ticket-splitters; especially by people who cast their ballot for Obama, but then punched the ticket in the senate race for the independent candidate, Dean Barkley.

This should be a really fun race to watch along with the Georgia Senate Runoff in December with Saxby Chambliss against Democrat, Jim Martin. Also the Alaska Race with the convicted Ted Stevens against Anchorage Mayor, Mark Begich.

Welcome

I am a 15 year old high school student from Missouri. I became extremely interested in politics and this election after this election. I believe it had a profound impact on the people at my school. More than three times the number of seniors registered during free periods than in 2004. Though I am obviously more interested in it than others. I am usually interested in some random things. (I am a black belt, a bass guitarist and a lock pick.) I also know some things about statistics and hope to offer my own take on the election polls and topics in 2010 and 2012. Though there are plenty of other political topics to cover until then.

I have great hope for the Obama administration and really hope that he can turn this country in the right direction.