With a little more than 250 campaigning days left before election day, a quick snapshot of the current state of play in the House and the Senate races is in order. In the House all 435 seats will be on the ballot, and in the Senate 33 statewide races will be held. Democrats need to pick up a net total of 25 seats in the House to claim the majority, and must prevent the Republicans from picking up 4 seats, and the majority, in the Senate.
Senate Retirement
Kent Conrad |
(D) |
Joe Lieberman |
(I) |
Jim Webb |
(D) |
Jeff Bingaman |
(D) |
Daniel Akaka |
(D) |
Herb Kohl |
(D) |
Ben Nelson |
(D) |
Key Bailey Hutchinson |
(R) |
Jon Kyl |
(R) |
With three retirements over the past month, the 2012 Senate landscape is quickly taking shape. So far, it's been somewhat welcome news for Republicans aiming to take back the Senate majority next year. Democrats must defend 23 seats, 10 of which are currently considered competitive, while Republicans must defend 10 seats, only 2 of which are currently considered competitive.
House Member vs. Member
Ben Quayle |
vs |
David Schweikert |
Howard Berman |
vs |
Brad Sherman |
Janice Hahn |
vs |
Laura Richardson |
Leonard Boswell |
vs |
Tom Latham |
Adam Kinzinger |
vs |
Don Manzullo |
Charles Boustany |
vs |
Jeff Landry |
Hansen Clarke |
vs |
Gary Peters |
Russ Carnahan |
vs |
Lacy Clay |
Bill Pascrell |
vs |
Steve Rothman |
Marcy Kaptur |
vs |
Dennis Kucinich |
Jim Renacci |
vs |
Betty Sutton |
Jason Altmire |
vs |
Mark Critz |
John Mica |
vs |
Sandy Adams |
Before the once-every-ten-years Congressional redistricting process began, several commentators had suggested redistricting would produce large Republican gains that would ensure one-party domination for the next decade. However, with the process largely completed, most observers now believe that redistricting will be a "wash" that will not produce significant net gains for either
House Retirement
Mike Ross |
(D) |
Dale Kildee |
(D) |
Jeff Flake |
(R) |
Todd Akin |
(R) |
Gabby Giffords |
(D) |
Denny Rehberg |
(R) |
Wally Herger |
(R) |
Brad Miller |
(D) |
Lynn Woolsey |
(D) |
Rick Berg |
(R) |
Jerry Lewis |
(R) |
Martin Heinrich |
(D) |
Dennis Cardoza |
(D) |
Shelley Berkley |
(D) |
Elton Gallegly |
(R) |
Maurice Hinchey |
(D) |
Bob Filner |
(D) |
Steve Austria |
(R) |
Chris Murphy |
(D) |
Dan Boren |
(D) |
Connie Mack |
(R) |
David Wu |
(D) |
Mazie Hirono |
(D) |
Todd Platts |
(R) |
Jerry Costello |
(D) |
Ron Paul |
(R) |
Joe Donnelly |
(D) |
Charlie Gonzalez |
(D) |
Dan Burton |
(R) |
Jay Inslee |
(D) |
Mike Pence |
(R) |
Tammy Baldwin |
(D) |
Geoff Davis |
(R) |
Heath Shuler |
(D) |
John Olver |
(D) |
Sue Myrick |
(R) |
Barney Frank |
(D) |
Three of the 21 House Democratic retirements had their seats eliminated by redistricting, leaving Democrats to defend 18 open seats, while the GOP will try to hold onto 14 open seats. The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index indicated that the GOP has a credible advantage in 4 of the Democrats' 18 open seats and loses the upper hand in one.
Party Breakdown of Seats Currently Seen as Competitive (Lean or Tossup)
Senate |
||
Democrats |
Republicans |
|
10 |
2 |
|
House |
||
Democrats |
Republicans |
|
19 |
31 |
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