Hot Senate Races

The editorial staff of The Week has identified eight U.S. Senate races that are close enough to possibly go either way; that's where real politics mavens should keep their eyes focused during the run-up to November. See The Week article on Yahoo News.

The states to watch are Maine, Nebraska, Virginia, Massachusetts (no kidding), Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, and Hawaii (a long shot). A key thing to remember is this:

The GOP only needs a net gain of four seats to seize control of the chamber for the first time since 2006. (snip) Ominously for the Democrats, they are defending 23 seats to the GOP's 10, and several high-profile retirements are making things even harder.

Retirements are important because very often incumbents are reelected.