The Battle for the U.S. House: Hot Races

This year's battle for the U.S. House of Representatives is truly epic. The following is my list of the top congressional races in the country. And as you can tell, due to recent scandals and the current political climate there are a lot more districts in play than usual. I composed this list by researching the works of various analysts and pundits, and so hopefully it will provide a good picture of what races to follow. Who knows, you could very well live in one of these districts!

Hot House Races

Arizona 5th
Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) vs. Harry Mitchell (D), state senator

Arizona 8th
Open: Randy Graf (R), former state rep. vs. Gabrielle Giffords (D), former state senator

California 4th
Rep. John Doolittle (R) vs. Charles Brown (D), retired Air Force pilot

California 11th
Rep. Richard Pombo (R) vs. Jerry McNerney (D), engineer

Colorado 3rd
Rep. John Salazar (D) vs. Scott Tipton (R), pottery company owner

Colorado 4th
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R) vs. Angie Paccione (D), state representative

Colorado 7th
Open: Rick O'Donnell (R), state higher education commission chair vs. Ed Perlmutter (D), former state senator

Connecticut 2nd
Rep. Rob Simmons (R) vs. Joe Courtney (D), former state representative

Connecticut 4th
Rep. Christopher Shays (R) vs. Diane Farrell (D), Westport selectwoman

Connecticut 5th
Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) vs. Chris Murphy (D), state senator

Florida 13th
Open: Vern Buchanan (R), auto dealer vs. Christine Jennings (D), bank president

Florida 16th
Open: Joe Negron (R), state representative vs. Tim Mahoney (D), venture capitalist

Florida 22nd
Rep. Clay Shaw (D) vs. Ron Klein (D), state senate minority leader

Georgia 8th
Rep. Jim Marshall (D) vs. Mac Collins (R), former congressman

Georgia 12th
Rep. John Barrow (D) vs. Max Burns (R), former congressman

Illinois 6th
Open: Peter Roskam (R), state senator vs. Tammy Duckworth (D), Iraq War veteran

Illinois 8th
Rep. Melissa Bean (D) vs. David McSweeney (R), investment banker

Indiana 2nd
Rep. Chris Chocola (R) vs. Joe Donnelly (D), lawyer

Indiana 8th
Rep. John Hostettler (R) vs. Brad Ellsworth (D), Vanderburgh County sheriff

Indiana 9th
Rep. Mike Sodrel (R) vs. Baron Hill (D), former congressman

Iowa 1st
Open: Mike Whalen (R), businessman vs. Bruce Braley (D), former president of Iowa Trial Lawyers Association

Iowa 3rd
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) vs. Jeff Lamberti (R), state senate president

Kentucky 3rd
Rep. Anne Northup (R) vs. John Yarmuth (D), former newspaper publisher

Kentucky 4th
Rep. Geoff Davis (R) vs. Ken Lucas (D), former congressman

Louisiana 3rd
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) vs. Craig Romero (R), state senator

Minnesota 6th
Open: Michele Bachmann (R), state senator vs. Patty Wetterling (D), child safety activist

Nevada 3rd
Rep. Jon Porter (R) vs. Tessa Hafen (D), former Senate aide

New Mexico 1st
Rep. Heather Wilson (R) vs. Patricia Madrid (D), state attorney general

New York 20th
Rep. John Sweeney (R) vs. Kirsten Gillibrand (D), lawyer

New York 24th
Open: Raymond Meier (R), state senator vs. Michael Arcuri (D), Oneida County district attorney

New York 29th
Rep. John "Randy" Kuhl (R) vs. Eric Massa (D), former Naval officer

North Carolina 11th
Rep. Charles Taylor (R) vs. Heath Shuler (D), former NFL quarterback

Ohio 1st
Rep. Steve Chabot (R) vs. John Cranley (D), Cincinnati city councilman

Ohio 15th
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R) vs. Mary Jo Kilroy (D), Franklin County Commissioner

Ohio 18th
Open: Joy Padgett (R), state representative vs. Zack Space (D), Dover city attorney

Pennsylvania 6th
Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) vs. Lois Murphy (D), lawyer

Pennsylvania 7th
Rep. Curt Weldon (R) vs. Joe Sestak (D), former Navy admiral

Pennsylvania 8th
Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R) vs. Patrick Murphy (D), Iraq War veteran

Pennsylvania 10th
Rep. Don Sherwood (R) vs. Chris Carney (D), college professor

South Carolina 5th
Rep. John Spratt (D) vs. Ralph Norman (R), state representative

Texas 17th
Rep. Chet Edwards (D) vs. Van Taylor (R), Iraq War veteran

Texas 22nd
Open: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (R), Houston city councilwoman vs. Nick Lampson (D), former congressman

Texas 23rd
Rep. Henry Bonilla (R) vs. Ciro Rodriguez (D), former congressman

Vermont - At Large
Open: Peter Welch (D), state senate president pro tem vs. Martha Rainville (R), National Guard general

Virginia 2nd
Rep. Thelma Drake (R) vs. Phil Kellam (D), Virginia Beach Commissioner of Revenue

Washington 8th
Rep. Dave Reichert (R) vs. Darcy Burner (D), former Microsoft executive

West Virginia 1st
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) vs. Chris Wakim (R), state delegate

Wisconsin 8th
Open: John Gard (R), state assembly speaker vs. Steve Kagen (D), doctor