Races to watch.

• Author: Conniff, Ruth
• Position: Democratic Party, Republican Party

Here is a quick roundup of some races to watch in the House and Senate come November:

The Senate, where the Democrats would need to pick up six seats to win a majority, is less of a long shot than ever, thanks in large part to Senator George "Macaca" Mien of Virginia. After seesawing between declaring that his recently revealed Jewish heritage makes him sensitive to racial slights and rushing to reassure voters that he's still scarfing down pork chops and ham sandwiches (he's not that Jewish!), Mien was blindsided by former classmates who went public with stories about his racist antics in college. Democrat James Webb has a decent chance, if only because Virginians want Mien out of the spotlight.

Democrats will have to struggle to hold on to New Jersey, where Senator Robert Menendez, appointed in 2006, is in trouble as Republican State Senator Tom Kean moves up in the polls. If the Dems lose New Jersey, they'll actually need to win seven Senate seats.

According to the National Journal rankings at the end of September, the most vulnerable seats are:

Pennsylvania, where Senator Rick Santorum is in bad shape as pro-life Democrat Bob Casey moves ahead.

Montana, where progressive Democrat Jon Tester has relentlessly hit Republican Conrad Burns for his connection to Jack Abramoff.

Ohio, with Brown ahead of DeWine.

Rhode Island, where moderate Republican Lincoln Chafee is neck-and-neck with his Democratic challenger, Sheldon Whitehouse.

Missouri, where rightwing Republican Jim Talent is having trouble holding on against Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill.

Tennessee, where Democratic Congressman Harold Ford is squaring off against former mayor of Chattanooga Bob Corker.

Maryland, where there is a tight race between Democratic Representative Ben Cardin and Republican Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele.

Washington, where Maria Cantwell seems to be holding on to her Democratic seat.

Arizona, where Jim Pederson is getting very close to two-term Republican incumbent Jon Kyl, much to the Republicans' dismay.

And then there's Virginia, where Mien continues to fumble.

In the House, there are about forty races in play, about half of which are too close to rank. The Republicans' colossal blunder--suppressing news of disgraced Florida Congressman Mark Foley's addiction to young, male pages until he was forced to resign a month before the election--will likely push his seat into the Democratic column, and maybe others.

Among the most interesting races:

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