State-by-state lookahead: What's at stake in 2008

ByABC News
November 7, 2007, 4:01 PM

— -- A cross-country look at the races, issues and people on the radar as the USA counts down to election 2008.

Click on a state name to jump to its summary or scroll through the whole roundup: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Alabama

Democratic state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures has an uphill battle in her bid to become the state's first black U.S. senator. She faces two-term Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions, who easily won re-election in 2002.

In 2006, Alabama had the second most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, which ultimately saw $8.2 million spent and Sue Bell Cobb elected the lone Democrat on the nine-member state Supreme Court. With Harold See announcing in July that he will not seek re-election, Alabama could see another costly battle.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's nine electoral votes with 62% of the vote.

Alaska

Scandals tied to an influential Alaska oil contractor could jeopardize the re-election hopes of two of Alaska's longest-serving politicians. A home belonging to Republican Sen. Ted Stevens was raided by federal agents in July as part of a probe into whether Stevens received illegal gifts and violated campaign laws. Law enforcement is looking into similar allegations involving fellow Republican Don Young, Alaska's only U.S. representative since 1973.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's three electoral votes with 61% of the vote.

Arizona

Under federal investigation for a land swap with a campaign donor, Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has announced that he will not seek re-election. More than a half dozen Democrats and Republicans have lined up for that seat. Democrats will also try to maintain two seats wrested from Republican control in 2006, by freshmen Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Harry Mitchell.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's 10 electoral votes with 55% of the vote.

Arkansas

Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor is a freshman who won his seat in what was then the most expensive political race in state history. No Republican has stepped up yet to challenge in 2008. Former governor Mike Huckabee might not be the best known presidential candidate nationally, but the Republican raised as much money in his home state of Arkansas as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was Arkansas' first lady for 12 years.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's six electoral votes with 54% of the vote.

California

Under a federal investigation for his ties to convicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Republican Rep. John Doolittle narrowly beat his Democratic opponent in 2006. That opponent will repeat his challenge, but Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, won't be the only one picking on Doolittle this time. Fellow Republicans have called on Doolittle to step aside and at least three said they are considering opposing him in the primary.

Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney had never held elected office until landing his seat in a 2006 upset. Former state assemblyman Dean Andal hopes to return the Republican-leaning district to GOP control in 2008. Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter is leaving his congressional seat to run for president. His son Duncan D. Hunter, a U.S. Marine Corps captain, has said he will join the fray to take his father's seat.

A GOP-backed plan proposes dividing the state's electoral votes by congressional district, possibly taking away about 20 electoral votes from Democrats in this reliably blue state. But the measure, facing strong opposition, may not make it to the ballot.

2004 results: Sen. John Kerry won the state's 55 electoral votes with 54% of the vote.

Colorado

With Republican Sen. Wayne Allard announcing he will not seek re-election, Rep. Mark Udall, hopes to become the state's second Democratic senator. Former GOP congressman Bob Schaffer also wants the job, and a recent poll showed the race in a dead heat. Udall's Senate run leaves a scramble for his seat, which lies in a heavily Democratic district.

Since her 2002 election, Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, perhaps best known nationally for her support of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, has won re-election by narrowing margins. She won in 2006 by less than 6,000 votes. Democrat Betsy Markey, a former staffer for Sen. Ken Salazar, is expected to oppose Musgrave.

The Democratic National Convention is Aug. 25-28 in Denver.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's nine electoral votes with 52% of the vote.

Connecticut

After surviving close re-elections in 2004 and 2006, Republican Rep. Christopher Shays has said he will not run again unless his party makes it worth his while he wants the top GOP spot on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Jim Himes, a businessman, and Lee Whitnum, who wrote a book about the lavish lifestyles of hedge fund managers, are slated to compete for the Democratic nomination. Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney unseated a three-term Republican congressman by 83 votes in 2006. So far he has a significant fundraising advantage over Republican challenger Sean Sullivan, a former submarine base commander.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the state's seven electoral votes with 54% of the vote.

Delaware

Term limits prevent Gov. Ruth Ann Minner from seeking re-election. Top Democrats in the state, including Minner, preferred Lt. Gov. John Carney Jr. to take her place, but three-term Democratic state Treasurer Jack Markell crashed Carney's coronation, announcing his candidacy in June. The primary could be hotly contested. Republicans are circulating a petition to lure former drugstore executive Alan Levin into the race. Michael Protack, an airline pilot and party outsider who has run unsuccessfully for governor and U.S. senator, is the only Republican in the race to date.

Sen. Joseph Biden is well behind in his bid for president, but he is expected to face little opposition in a simultaneous run for re-election to the Senate.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the state's three electoral votes with 53% of the vote.

District of Columbia

In April, the long push by district voters and Democrats to give the nation's capital a full member in the House of Representatives seemed close to success after that body approved such a bill. But in September, the bill, sponsored by non-voting D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, fell three votes short of the 60 needed for Senate consideration and stalled. It is not clear when or if the bill will be revived.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the district's three electoral votes with 89% of the vote.

Florida

In 2000, Florida played a crucial and controversial role in determining the next president. A year before the 2008 presidential elections, the state seems to be cementing that role again. After state Democrats bucked their national party by setting their primary a week earlier than mandated, the Democratic National Committee took away the state's primary delegates. In response, state Democrats sued the DNC. In the general election, Florida is again the largest potential swing state.

Republicans are targeting freshman Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney, who in 2006 narrowly won a historically GOP seat after Rep. Mark Foley was revealed to have sent lurid messages to congressional pages and resigned. State Rep. Gayle Harrell is among those seeking the nomination.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's 27 electoral votes with 52% of the vote.

Georgia

Two Democrats who won re-election to Congress in 2006 by a combined total of just more than 2,600 votes could face tough races again. Rep. Jim Marshall has challengers to the right and the left, with both Republican Richard Goddard, a former Air Force base commander, and Macon Mayor Jack Ellis, a Democrat, expressing interest. Four Republicans have said they may challenge Rep. John Barrow.

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won't be easy to best, but Democrats Dale Cardwell, a former TV reporter; Rand Knight, an environmental scientist; and DeKalb County Chief Executive Vernon Jones are competing to oppose him.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's 15 electoral votes with 58% of the vote.

Hawaii

Democratic Reps. Mazie Hirono and Neil Abercrombie, the state's only representatives, appear poised for easy re-elections in this heavily Democratic state.

2004 results: Sen. Kerry won the state's four electoral votes with 54% of the vote.

Idaho

Following news of his arrest in a Minneapolis airport restroom sex sting, Sen. Larry Craig initially said he intended to resign from the Senate. Craig later changed his mind, opting to serve out the rest of his term but not seek re-election. The race to replace Craig could be a rematch of the state's 2006 race for lieutenant governor, when Republican Jim Risch beat former U.S. representative Larry LaRocco, a Democrat. Rex Rammell, a veterinarian and elk rancher, is also seeking the GOP nod, but Risch has the governor's endorsement.

2004 results: President Bush won the state's four electoral votes with 69% of the vote.

Illinois

Illinois could be a central front in the battle for control of the U.S. House, with three representatives retiring and three others facing potentially tough re-elections. Republican Reps. Jerry Weller, Ray LaHood and Dennis Hastert, former speaker of the House, are leaving.

Republican Reps. Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam and Democratic Rep. Melissa Bean could all face stiff competition in their re-election bids. Democrats Dan Seals, who lost a close race to Kirk in 2006, and Jay Footlik, former aide to President Clinton, have said they will challenge Kirk.