With a huge fund-raising edge allowing for wide advertising blitzes, Democrats are pushing hard for Senate seats in red states even recently thought unwinnable, Alexander Bolton writes in the Hill. In North Carolina, Dems see a chance to unseat Elizabeth Dole; in Georgia, Saxby Chambliss; in Mississippi, Roger Wicker; and in Kentucky, Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
The Republicans are suffering from both an enormous money gap and an image scarred by the troubled economy. Support for the bailout puts McConnell and Chambliss on shaky ground. And Democrats expect high black voter turnout, which usually works in their favor. While some Republicans concede fears for November, a Senate GOP spokeswoman says the party is “fully confident” of red-state re-election. (More Congress stories.)