Races to watch in Obama's fight to hold Congress (Feature)

By Anne K Walters Oct 26, 2010, 6:01 GMT

Scranton, Pennsylvania/Washington - The eastern US state of Pennsylvania will be watched closely as Americans head to the voting booths on November 2 to choose leaders in Congress.

The state is often seen as an early indicator of national mood, because of its mix of rural and industrial areas, small towns, suburbs and urban Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. This means there's always a tug and pull between centre-right Republicans and centre- left Democrats.

This year, as opposition Republicans eye a takeover of Congress, the state features a competitive Senate race between Democrat Joe Sestak, a former Navy admiral and congressman who has been gaining steam, and Republican Pat Toomey.

Additionally, up to eight House races in the state could see Republicans take over seats now held by Democrats. That number includes seats in solidly Democratic strongholds, such as Scranton, where incumbent Paul Kanjorski could be ousted after a quarter century in Congress.

US President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party face a major challenge not just here, but nationwide when US voters select all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 37 members of the Senate and 37 governors.

Democrats are widely expected to lose seats and perhaps their majority in the House of Representatives, if not the Senate. Opposition centre-right Republicans are tapping into anger over the stagnant economy, with unemployment stuck at 9.6 per cent and home foreclosures continuing at or near a record pace.

In Ohio and Florida, which provided the nail-bitting conclusions to the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, Republicans also stand to make big gains. The Politico newspaper counts six Democratic House seats in play in Ohio and four in Florida. The same could happen in New York, a traditional Democratic stronghold, where several seats in the rural part of the state are up for grabs.

Florida also features a three-way Senate race between conservative Hispanic Republican challenger Marco Rubio, Democrat Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist, the state's governor who left the Republican Party to run as an independent candidate. The governor's race remains a toss-up between Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott amid particularly high unemployment and home foreclosure rates.

Elsewhere, the Delaware Senate race will provide an initial indication of the strength of the conservative grassroots Tea Party movement, a Republican fringe group that has ousted some mainstream Republicans in favour of conservative candidates.

Republican Christine O'Donnell, who has drawn sharp criticism for bizarre decades-old comments on witchcraft, faces Democrat Chris Coons to take the seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden. Though Coons far outweighs O'Donnell in opinion surveys, the national attention she has drawn will make this an early race to watch.

Obama's former Senate seat is also a hot contest that could provide a symbolic victory for Republicans. Democrat Alexi Giannoulias faces Republican Mark Steven Kirk.

The plight of the Democrats is perhaps best embodied by the tenuous situation of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who faces a fierce challenge from Republican Sharron Angle, a Tea Party favourite, in the western state of Nevada. Polls a week before the vote showed the race on the edge, with a slight lead for Angle.

California, the most populous US state, features a big name governor race to replace action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. Democrat Jerry Brown, who served as governor from 1975-1983, faces Republican Meg Whitman, former chief executive of eBay who has spent 150 million dollars of her own money on the race.

The state's Senate race also features a high profile woman from the tech sector, Republican Carly Fiorina, former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, in a neck-and-neck race with longtime Senator Barbara Boxer.

Alaska also features a cast of colourful characters after incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski refused to give up her bid to keep her seat despite losing in the intra-party primary to a Tea Party candidate. She now faces the conservative winner of the primary contest, Joe Miller, and Democrat Scott McAdams.

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