A Preview Of Four Key Races To Watch On Tuesday

by John Hawkins | August 7, 2006 5:08 am

Joseph Lieberman (D) vs. Ned Lamont (D): (Big Edge to Lamont) If, as expected, Lamont wins, expect him to get a boost and for Joe’s support among Democrats to plunge. Still, heavy support from Republicans and Independents along with some significant Democratic support as well could very well be enough to put Lieberman in office as an Independent. Expect things to get nasty, confused, and expensive for Democrats in Connecticut after Tuesday.

Tim Walberg (R) vs. Joe Schwartz (R) (Toss-Up): Conservative Tim Walberg is going head-to-head with RINO Joe Schwartz in the Republican primary. Although Walberg is likely to beat Schwartz among Republican voters, it’s an open primary and the Democrats that participate are expected to vote heavily for Schwartz. There is no serious Democratic competition for the seat, so this is essentially a winner-take-all primary and a Walberg victory would send a real message to the Republicans in Congress.

Keith Butler (R) vs. Michael Bouchard (R) (Edge to Bouchard): Two conservative candidates are duking it out for a chance to take on potentially vulnerable incumbent Debbie Stabenow. The key here is for one of these candidates not only to win, but to get enough of a boost afterwards to poll close to Stabenow. If the polling gap between Stabenow and the winner is small enough after the primary, the funding needed to make this into a competitive race may be forthcoming. But, if Stabenow is still way up, the winner probably won’t get the money he needs to have a shot to win.

Hank Johnson (D) vs. Cynthia McKinney (D): (Big Edge to Johnson). McKinney beat Johnson 47% to 44% in the primary, but Johnson picked up speed afterwards and is now favored to win the runoff election. Although Johnson is no conservative, it would certainly be nice to see him send Cynthia McKinney off to an early retirement.