Delaware (6/25/06)

Joe Biden has never faced a good challenger in his reelection battles, but this time around, that's all changing. The state's lone congressional representative, Michael Castle, might be running for the GOP's nomination. He is a popular, moderate Republican that is pretty well-liked by the state. Biden would probably defeat him, but he might not be running for reelection because he all but announced for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year. If that is the case, and he does resign from the Senate, the Democrats would do well to nominate State Treasurer Jack Markell. He is pegged as a rising star for the Democrats and would probably be the party's best chance against Castle. But Markell is probably going to run for the open Governorship, so the Democrats might have to look elsewhere. So might the GOP. Castle will be approaching 70 years old in 2008, and might choose not to run. If that does happen, the seat is safe for the Democrats because the Republicans don't seem to have any other credible candidates. This seat's future is wholly dependent on who's running for it, but looks to lean Democratic anyway.

Potential Dem Candidates: Senator Joseph Biden (http://biden.senate.gov/)
State Treasurer Jack Markell (http://www.markell.org/)

Potential GOP Candidates: Congressman Michael Castle (http://www.castlecampaign.com/)

Current Rating: Leans Dem