Another Incumbent Alert

Last Saturday, a sitting Republican U.S. Senator in Utah was bounced from his re-election bid.  A week ago, a GOP Congressman in Indiana barely survived his primary.  Today, it's the turn of a Democrat from West Virginia to test his political future.

In the Incumbent Cross Hairs today is Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), who is running for a 15th term in the House.  His name is a familiar one to many voters in West Virginia, as his father served in Congress for 16 years as well.

Most of his time in Congress, Mollohan has rarely drawn any opposition, but after a series of high profile ethical matters surfaced in recent years, he is now faced with a strong opponent, State Sen. Mike Oliverio (D), who argues that voters have lost confidence in Mollohan.

Mollohan's ethical issues have centered on his ability to deliver budget earmarks to his state and district, some of which went to organizations with links to Mollohan.

But despite a lot of investigations and ethics complaints, the Justice Department cleared Mollohan of any wrongdoing earlier this year.

We'll see if he can keep his re-election bid going today.

Meanwhile, let's look ahead to next week, which has a series of interesting stories for the House and Senate.

Two recent polls show one Democratic Senator in trouble in his primary, and another maybe surviving her own test.

The first stop is Pennsylvania, where Republican-turned-Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter is running against Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) in the Democratic Primary.

Sestak has trailed for months, but a new poll from Rasmussen showed him ahead of Specter by five points.  A primary loss for Specter would be a double body blow to Democrats, because he has been endorsed by President Obama.

That is one to watch next week for sure.

The other race to watch is in Arkansas, where Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) seems to be holding her own against Lt. Gov. Bill Halter (D).  A recent Mason-Dixon poll showed Lincoln ahead of Halter by 12 points.

Halter has raised much more money than Lincoln, who has been under fire from both liberals and conservatives.  Even if she wins, she faces a difficult re-election path in November.

But this race includes a third candidate, and a classic Southern hurdle - the runoff - if no one gets 50%.  That means Lincoln may have a life-or-death battle again in June.

Bottom line on Election 2010 - one Congressional incumbent on alert tonight - and more next week.

Last Saturday, a sitting Republican U.S. Senator in Utah was bounced from his re-election bid.  A week ago, a GOP Congressman in Indiana barely survived his primary.  Today, it's the turn of a Democrat from West Virginia to test his political future. In the Incumbent Cross Hairs today is Rep. ...