2006 U.S. Elections: Congress

It looks like there will be a good number of competitive races this year in Congress. With scandals plaguing the Republicans and the president's approval ratings remaining at low levels, it seems unlikely that they will increase their representation in Congress. Instead, it looks like it will be a good year for the Democrats. The Democrats need 15 seats to take over the House, and 6 seats to take over the Senate. It will probably be an uphill battle for the Democrats to win control of both houses of Congress though, seeing as how they are defending more Senate seats and facing the fact that the incumbent friendly House districts limit the competitive playing field. But a really strong Democratic tide come election day in November might put more House seats into play than expected, and it might allow Democrats to take over the Senate as well. However, even though things look good for the Democrats right now, November is still a long way off and my experience in politics tells me that anything can happen until then. I will also be looking at key races across the country as the weeks go by, so keep an eye out for that.