Harold Ford (D)(right) has pulled even against former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker (R)(left) in the Senate campaign in Tennessee. I’m from Chattanooga, so I’ve been watching this one since the beginning. Ford has been able to stay competitive in fundraising, and has fabulous ads. Folks all over the state are talkin about this one about alternative fuels. A loss for Republicans in Tennessee would likely mean that they lose control of the entire Senate. Pollster.com, my favorite polling outfit, averages out the last 5 and the last 10 polls on the race.
Last 5
Ford (D) :45%
Corker(R) :44%

The other local race that’s gotten national attention is the Senate Race in Virginia. Jim Webb (D) (left), former Secretary of the Navy during the Reagan administration, has made HUGE headway on George Allen (R) (right), a 2008 GOP presidential favorite. Allen has come under fire for using racial slurs, and for being accused of stuffing a deer-head into an African-American family’s mailbox as a young prankster.
Last 5
Webb(D): 46%
Allen (R): 47%

Many bloggers and pundits (myself included) believe that Democrats, if the election were held today, would take back control of the House of Representatives. These races are important to watch, because a Democratically controlled Congress is going to be much different than the current Republican controlled Congress, particularly on the environment and energy.

The mountain areas of eastern Tennessee and southern Virginia are crucial to these races. Corker and Webb both hail from those respective parts of their state, and it will be interesting to see how the elections play out, and if Appalachian people will follow their historical precedent of political activism!x3