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The ten most important election contests of 2010

Over the next month, Hearst Newspapers Washington bureau chief Richard S. Dunham will examine the key races in the 2010 midterm elections. We kick off the series with a look at the ten most important races in the country.

If Democrats are headed for electoral disaster this November, you wouldn't know it from listening to their leaders. "I can assure you that despite the Washington summer political chatter, reports of the House Democrats' demise are greatly exaggerated," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The "chatter," as Van Hollen calls it, is the result of dozens of polls showing Democrats trailing in swing districts, and some showing once-safe incumbents now in tight races with Republican insurgents. A Gallup Poll released Wednesday gives GOP congressional candidates a 10-point national lead over Democrats, 51 percent to 41 percent, the largest Republican edge in the 68-year history of that poll.

Is this a late-summer lull or a sign of imminent disaster for Democrats? Can Republicans win the 39 House and 10 Senate seats needed for them to regain control of Capitol Hill after four years of Democratic dominance? Can the GOP win back a majority of governors' jobs — a significant prize because of the coming post-Census battles over redistricting.

Here are ten of the key races that will tell us where America is heading in the 2010 midterm elections:.................................>>>>..............>>>>..............Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=71680#ixzz0zyzD5E4c