• The Cook Political Report just changed its ranking for Ohio's 1st Congressional District from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up." Steve Chabot has always managed to squeak by in the past, but with Hamilton Co. trending ever more Democratic, a huge African-American turnout for Obama, and a bad election cycle for Republicans overall, he may just get turned out this time. Steve Driehaus is certainly a strong competitor. Can read a little more about it here.
• Comedian Al Franken won the Democratic nomination for the US Senate seat in Minnesota on Saturday. On paper, he's got a good shot. Minnesota tends to slightly trend Democratic. It has a penchant for quirky candidates (remember Jesse Ventura). And Republican Senator Norm Coleman has low approval numbers. He just rubs a lot of folks the wrong way. Comes across as a classic insincere smiling politician. But Franken's very inexperienced. He didn't know what the hell he was doing and stumbled very badly throughout the primary. Basically only got the nomination because nobody else really wanted it. Coleman's a very crafty bugger. Can see him running rings around Franken, hitting him hard and making him slip up. I remember when Nick Clooney ran for Congress, everyone thought he'd win in a landslide. But he just couldn't keep up with his Republican opponent. Completely collapsed. That same fate may very well await Franken. For more information about his weekend nomination, click here.