2010 Senate Elections: New candidates in and out
Jul 09, 2009 | Posted by John Isaacs

The election results in November 2010 depend a lot on who decides to run for office and who forgoes a run. In the past days, Republicans had some important Senate pickups.

In Illinois, the big dog Democrat, Attorney General Lisa Madigan(D), who seemed to be a White House favorite, decided not to run for Senate or Governor for that matter. She will run for re-election as state Attorney General. Without her in the contest, Democrats face a contested and perhaps bitter primary. On the other side, suburban U.S. Representative Mark Kirk (R) has told people he will run. He will be competitive.

In New Hampshire, Republicans suffered a blow when former Senator John Sununu (R) decided not to run in 2010, but their disappointment was quickly erased when state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (R) (that's a she not a he) yesterday announced she will resign as the state's chief law enforcement official effective July 17 to explore a run for the Senate. While she has never run for political office, Ayotte is quite popular and does well in early polling matched against the Democratic candidate, U.S. Representative Paul Hodes. However, Ayotte may face a Republican primary challenge to secure the nomination.

Click here for the full 2010 election analysis..