Sunday with the Senators – Round-Up: 27 June

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Before we get to the November choices, I’d like to spend two moments on the current crop of Senators.

1. Here is a link of the list of FISA heroes. Senators who WILL stand up and say "NO DOMESTIC SPYING" "NO TELECOM IMMUNITY" And in answer to "why is it so bad that the telecoms did what the government asked them to?" the answer is "Collusion with corruption causing civil rights violations is BAD." If you have not done so, please remember to call YOUR Senators. (Yes, both of them) -- you may also want to contact the 15 FISA heroes and say thank you. Because standing up against tyranny and aggression matters. The vote is currently scheduled for 8 July, but may be delayed due to the potential filibuster.
2. If you believe, as I do, that Joe Lieberman needs to be ousted from all Democratic caucus meetings, sign the petition. Political action is NOT just reading the numbers and voting in November, it is supporting the people in office who support our values, and working to remove those who do not.

And now, on to the races.

Alaska: No new polls this week, and it’s still a supposed toss-up. However, the Obama machine is coming.

Colorado: The latest Quinnipiac poll has Udall up by 10, with 12% undecided. Remember that Udall’s favourables are at 56%, and Schaffer’s are below 50.

Georgia: No movement, and no new polls.

Kentucky: McConnell is slipping. RCP has him up by 7.7 as of 25 June, when he won 6 years ago by approximately 30 points.

Louisiana: No movement, and no new polls.

Maine: No movement, and no new polls. Remember though, that Collins won 6 years ago by about 17 points, and hasn’t led by that since March.

Minnesota: No movement, and no new polls. The good news is that Jesse Ventura still hasn’t entered the race, and the Presidential polls show Obama up by a lot.

Mississippi: Cochran: No change, no new polls.
Mississippi: Wicker: This is still the closest of all the races, with RCP having recent polls in the +1/-1 range.

North Carolina: No change, no new polls.

New Hampshire: No new polls, but Shaheen is still up by more than 10. (Sununu won against her 6 years ago by 4). Expect to see new polling out of NH this week based on the Unity rally on Friday.

New Jersey: The latest poll, from Saturday, shows Lautenberg up by a comfortable 16 points.

New Mexico: Still a lock for Udall.

Oregon: No change, and no new polls. (But I’m still convinced this "red" will change by Labour Day.)

Virginia: Still a lock for Warner.

And I’d like to bring what should be a fully red race to your attention: Texas. Yes, that Texas. A recent Texas Lyceum poll shows Cornyn up by only 2 points. Sure, there is a large percentage of undecideds, But Cornyn won this race by 12 points 6 years ago. It shouldn’t be this close, but happily it is.

The most important numbers in the next several weeks will not be the poll numbers, but will be the money numbers which will be out in mid-July.