A Senate Landscape on the Brink of Change

Oct. 27, 2006— -- Entering the final, frenzied week before the midterm election, the fight for the Senate's 33 available seats will boil down to the outcome in a handful of races that occupy significant space in the national spotlight.

A recent joint appearance by Sens. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at the National Press Club underlined the tension as the campaign enters the homestretch.

Schumer seemed guardedly optimistic.

"It's hardly a certainty, and nobody on our side in the Senate is breaking out the champagne," Schumer said, "But we are on the edge, [where] we didn't even think we'd be about three months ago."

Dole seemed markedly realistic.

"The political environment has been very tough for Republicans for many, many months, almost since the beginning of my term at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. No question about it," said Dole. "But our incumbents have understood the challenge before them."

Schumer has proved to be a prodigious fundraiser, consistently beating his Republican counterpart in the race for campaign cash this cycle.The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has raised $104 million for the cycle compared with the NRSC's $78 million.

Additionally, the Democrats have $9.7 million in the bank as of Oct. 18. Republicans have a little less, with $8.9 million for the homestretch.

Republicans currently hold 55 Senate seats, and Democrats, 44; an independent holds the remaining seat. To regain control of the Senate, Democrats need six seats and have targeted Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island, Montana, Missouri, Virginia, and Tennessee as their best bets. Republicans are looking for possible pickups in New Jersey and Maryland.

Operatives on both sides believe the races most likely to go from red to blue are in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Montana. In Ohio, Republican Sen. Mike DeWine is one of the prime targets of the Democratic Party, following Rep. Bob Ney's (R-Ohio) guilty plea in the Abramoff investigation and Gov. Bob Taft's tarnished aura.