Last week, I called attention to six key senate battleground races where Democrats have a chance of winning. Then two days later, we found two more Senate races where the Democratic candidates were fast catching up in the polls - yielding what I call the Essential Eight Senate races.
These are the eight senate races that need every ounce of help we can provide. As the economic crisis continues to unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear to the American populous that Republican leadership had proven once again to be a substandard steward of the economy. And the polls are showing that - not just in the presidential race, but in the Senate race as well.
If we focus on these eight races, the Democrats could very easily take a 61 seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Don't believe me? Take a look at some polling maps from electoral-vote.com: Presidential and Senate.
Read on ...
The best new news is Bruce Lunsford's gains in the Kentucky Senate race. It's not a race that Obama is likely to turn blue, but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Lunsford is only one point behind Mitch McConnell.
Democrats have a small lead in five of the Senate battleground states. The only other trailing races are Al Franken's race in Minnesota (he's only 4 points behind), and Governor Ronnie Musgrove's race in Mississippi (he's only 5 points behind).
So all eight Senate Swing States are winnable - even Musgrove's desired seat in Mississippi! But we all need to pitch in. I think Mississippi is particularly winnable as there are a lot of disenfranchised voters in that state. Republicans have a history there of targeting "blue neighborhoods" and doing whatever they can to suppress the vote there. If you live in or near Mississippi, please start looking for blue neighborhoods where you can work on voter registrations. There's an incredible number of people who need help registering. The registration deadline is Oct 6! So hurry.
The same goes for all of the other eight Senate Swing states that require pre-registration: Oregon, Alaska, Kentucky, Colorado and North Carolina. Find the blue neighborhoods and get people registered. Time is running short.
And if you can, donate to support the candidates in these eight races. I set up a simple page on ActBlue just for these eight races. Click here to give now.