Mid-terms 2006: Key races - Senate

The Democrats will be trying very hard to win the six extra seats they need to gain control of the US Senate. We look at a dozen of the most interesting races below.

CONNECTICUT

Joseph Lieberman, the veteran senator who ran for vice-president on Al Gore's ticket in 2000, is running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary.

He will run against a previously little-known Democratic candidate, Ned Lamont, among other candidates.

During the primary campaign in this traditionally Democratic state, Mr Lamont accused Mr Lieberman of being too close to the Republican White House and made an issue of the senator's strong support for the war in Iraq.

FLORIDA

Incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson's seat should be a key target for the Florida Republicans. President Bush won the Sunshine State in 2004 and Republican Mel Martinez won the other Florida seat that year as well.

However, the Republicans' candidate - Rep Katherine Harris - is likely to prove divisive. Ms Harris came to prominence in 2000 when, as Florida's secretary of state, she certified George W Bush's disputed victory in the presidential election, and stopped any further recounts.

Ms Harris is unpopular with Republicans, and her presence in the race will energise Democrats, making Mr Nelson's re-election highly likely.

MARYLAND

The Democrats will be battling a Republican challenge to the seat currently held by retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes.

There is a crowded field for the Democratic nomination: Baltimore Congressman Ben Cardin and ex-NAACP President Kweisi Mfume are the front-runners.

The lack of a Democratic front-runner could allow Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, the likely Republican candidate, to focus his campaign - and funds - better than his eventual opponent.

MASSACHUSSETTS

This race should be one of the more predictable ones this year. November will see Edward Kennedy "fight" his eighth re-election campaign. If he wins, and serves a full term, he will have been in the Senate for 50 years, ever since he took over his brother John's seat in 1962.

The Kennedy name is synonymous with liberalism in US politics, but this does him no harm in this moderate state, and he will face no real competition from the Republicans.

MISSOURI

In a year that is likely to be bad for Republicans, incumbent Jim Talent (R) faces a tough re-election battle in this bellwether state.

He is being challenged by State Auditor Clare McCaskill, who ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 2004. She could benefit from the unpopularity of Mr Talent's conservative stance on stem-cell research.

There will be an initiative on the ballot to protect the controversial research technique in the state, and he has come out against it.

MONTANA

Montana will be a key state to watch, in order to assess the impact of the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Republican Conrad Burns received large donations from the disgraced lobbyist, and has been accused of changing his votes and approving federal spending for the benefit of Abramoff's Native American clients.

The Democrats are set to capitalise on the senator's notoriety in this conservative state - Mr Burns's challenger, State Senator Jon Tester, is out-polling him. A loss for Mr Burns would be a huge blow and would be seen as proof that the spate of recent Republican scandals has damaged the party.

NEW JERSEY

The race will be a competitive one. Democratic incumbent Robert Menendez was appointed last year by newly-elected Governor Jon Corzine to fill his newly-vacant seat, so this will be Mr Menendez's first electoral test.

He faces Republican Tom Kean Jr, the son of the former governor. Mr Kean Sr chaired the 9/11 commission and is a popular figure in the Garden State.

His son will be hoping that some of his father's popularity rubs off on him, while Mr Menendez will be hoping that if anything rubs off on Mr Kean, it will be President Bush's unpopularity in this Democratic-leaning state.

OHIO

Republican Mike DeWine's seat is the kind of seat that the Democrats have to win if they are serious about taking back the Senate.

This is a swing state, and Democrat Sherrod Brown - currently an Ohio congressman - will be hoping that the national anti-Republican mood will act in his favour.

The Democrats will find it hard to paint centrist Mike DeWine as a rabid Bushite, but his moderate politics have alienated him from his base somewhat, which could hurt him on election day.

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrats could claim a notable scalp here, if State Treasurer Bob Casey beats the incumbent Rick Santorum.

Mr Santorum is a prominent conservative who is weighing up a 2008 bid for the White House. Polls consistently show him trailing behind Mr Casey, whose pro-life stance on abortion gives him considerable cross-over appeal.

Unusually for US politics, if the incumbent wins this race, it will be a notable upset. Consequently, it is the Democrats' number one target.

RHODE ISLAND

The Democratic candidate - former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse - had a stroke of good fortune when his rival for the nomination dropped out of the race in April.

Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee has had no such luck - he will be spending the run-up to the election fighting off a primary challenge from conservative Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, just when he should be reaching out to moderates by showcasing his centrist views.

In liberal Rhode Island, Mr Chafee's primary distraction could be his undoing.

TENNESSEE

The decision of outgoing Senator (and Majority Leader) Bill Frist to step down in order to pursue his presidential ambitions has left an intriguingly open race in the Volunteer State.

If results go the Democrats' way this year, then Harold Ford Jr could become the first ever popularly-elected black senator in a southern state. He will have a difficult job - he is being outpolled by Republican Bob Corker, who is well funded and has high name recognition as the former mayor of Chattanooga.

VIRGINIA

The race will be a test for incumbent George Allen, who is one of the front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He has not really seen serious competition in his previous elections, but this year he faces a credible Democrat - former Navy Secretary James Webb, who may have cross-over appeal to Republicans because he served under Ronald Reagan, who remains a hero to the party.

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Are you from any of these states? The BBC News website is compiling a panel of voters from some of the key battlegrounds in the mid-terms. If you are from one of these areas and would like to take part, send us your predictions and some details about yourself using the form below.