The Fix - Chris Cillizza's politics blog on washingtonpost.com - October 4, 2009

Rank	Race	Current Party	Change
1	Delaware	Democrat	Up
2	Connecticut	Democrat	None
3	Nevada	Democrat	Up
4	Ohio	Republican	None
5	Missouri	Republican	Down
6	Colorado	Democrat	None
7	New Hampshire	Republican	Down
8	Kentucky	Republican	Down
9	Illinois	Democrat	Up
10 (tie)	Pennsylvania	Democrat	Up
10 (tie)	Louisiana	Republican	Down

Rank	Race	Current Party	Change
1	LA-02	Republican	None
2	LA-03	Democrat	Up
3	NY-23	Republican	Up
4	NM-02	Democrat	Up
5	IL-10	Republican	Down
6	AL-02	Democrat	Up
7	MD-01	Democrat	Down
8	PA-06	Republican	Down
9	CO-04	Democrat	Up
10	PA-07	Democrat	Up

Rank	Race	Current Party	Change
1	Kansas	Democrat	None
2	Tennessee	Democrat	Up
3	Oklahoma	Democrat	Up
4	Vermont	Republican	Up
5	Hawaii	Republican	Down
6	R.I.	Republican	Down
7	Michigan	Democrat	Down
8	N.J.	Democrat	Up
9	Nevada	Republican	Down
10	Virginia	Democrat	Down

Rank	Race	Primary	Change
1	Texas Gov.	Republican	None
2	Pa. Senate	Democrat	None
3	Calif. Gov.	Republican	Up
4	Connecticut Sen.	Republican	Up
5	Ky. Senate	Democrat	None
6	Illinois Gov.	Democrat	Up
7	California Gov.	Democrat	Down
8	Kansas Senate	Republican	Up
9	Colo. Senate	Republican	Up
10	Michigan Gov.	Republican	Down

Friday Senate Line: Republican Recruiting and the National Environment

Senate Republicans scored a major recruiting victory this week when Delaware Rep. Mike Castle (R) announced he would run in 2010 for the seat vacated by Vice President Joe Biden. Castle was rightly regarded by strategists of both parties as the only Republican candidate who could make Democratic-leaning Delaware competitive. With Castle in the race, it will surely give state Attorney General Beau Biden (D) at least some pause about what had been seen as a sure-thing candidacy.

The Live Fix: Obama and the Nobel, Wii vs Xbox, and Bob Schneider

We spent the last hour chatting live with Fixistas -- fielding questions on topics ranging from President Barack Obama's surprise win of a Nobel Peace Prize to whether the Wii or the Xbox is the preferred video game console.

Obama, the Nobel Prize and What It All Means

The stunning choice of President Barack Obama as the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize -- announced early this morning in Oslo -- comes at a critical juncture both domestically and internationally for his Administration and has the potential to give him a political boost in each arena moving forward .

Morning Fix: Of Superdelegates and Health Care

The White House's strategy on health care over the past week -- leaking out the names of a handful of prominent Republican supporters each day -- closely resembles the way then candidate Barack Obama used his cache of superdelegates to build momentum during the prolonged fight for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

CO-Senate: Bennet Lands Cecil

Appointed Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D) has hired high-level party operative Guy Cecil to serve as his chief of staff, a recognition of the political peril in which he finds himself in 2010.

Fix Poll: An Underrated Tie!

Yesterday, we asked Fixistas to choose the most underrated member of the U.S. Senate from a list of six options. More than 3,600(!) of you offered your opinion.

CA-Gov: Whitman Defends Handling of Vote Story

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman (R) said she would not have changed anything in the way she and her campaign responded to a Sacramento Bee article alleging that she had never been registered to vote before 2002.

Short Takes: The Bachmann Primary

Eyebrows were raised recently when Rep. Michelle Bachmann's (R-Minn.) name appeared on a D.C. fundraising invitation for the kickoff event of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's presidential vehicle, er, leadership PAC.

The Most Important Number in Politics Today

It's still the economy, stupid, according to new national numbers out of Quinnipiac that show that more than four in ten voters believe the economy is the most important problem facing the country.

Morning Fix: Calling California Conservatives

The Republican race for the California governorship in 2010 -- one of the highest profile GOP contests in the country -- is devoid of one major thing: a conservative candidate. All three of the candidates -- former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and former Rep. Tom Campbell -- lay claim to a conservative approach to governance but none are the sort of candidate that excites the sort of base voters who turn out in midterm election primaries.

Fix Poll: The Most Underrated Senator?

With so much focus on the Senate these days, the Fix has been ruminating on the members of the world's greatest deliberative body who don't get as much credit as they should.

The Most Important Number in Politics Today

36 That's the percentage of Democrats who approve of the job Congress is doing in new Gallup data, a number that should strike fear into the hearts of those incumbents in tough races in 2010.

The Rising: Hillary Alumnus, Bloomberg Foil

Nine years ago, Bill de Blasio was managing Hillary Rodham Clinton's first run for elected office. Today he is in prime position to emerge as the leading Democratic foil to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg if, as expected, Hizzoner wins a third term next month.

Pawlenty to Iowa

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) will headline an Iowa Republican party event this fall, a trip that will mark his visit to the politically crucial state since he has made clear his interest in pursuing a presidential bid in 2012.

Morning Fix: Paging Doctors (and Nurses)

President Barack Obama is relying heavily on the credibility conveyed by doctors and nurses as he makes the final push for passage of his health care plan. On Monday, Obama appeared at the White House with more than 150 doctors -- all wearing their white lab coats -- to (re)tout the American Medical Association's support for his plan.

Short Takes: Podesta for Bloomberg

The decision by John Podesta, chairman of President Barack Obama's transition team and chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, to endorse New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's (I) bid for re-election this fall is sure to cause some raised eyebrows among New York Democratic insiders.

The Most Important Number in Politics Today

That's -- roughly -- the amount of money that former Florida state House Speaker Marco Rubio (R) raised over the past three months for his Senate candidacy, a sum that is likely to keep him within financial shouting distance of Gov. Charlie Crist (R) for the foreseeable future.

DE-Senate: Castle To Run

In a major recruiting coup for national Republicans, Rep. Mike Castle (R) will enter the open seat Senate race in Delaware later today, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

Morning Fix: Landscape Sparks Republicans Recruiting

The decline in President Barack Obama's poll numbers -- and those of his party -- over the first eight months of the year has led to a bumper crop of Republican recruits in the House as GOP candidates who sat on the sidelines over the last two election cycles are now leaping at the opportunity to run.

Christie's Campaign Jingle

The Fix is a connoisseur of campaign theme songs. From the great (Ohio Rep. Charlie Wilson's jingle asking voters to write him in after a mixup left him off the ballot) to the not-so-great (Illinois state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger's "Do the Rauschenberger"), we have seen -- or rather heard -- them all.

Short Takes: Lowden's Ensign Problem

Former Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Sue Lowden entered the race against Sen. Harry Reid (D) last week to much fanfare from national operatives who saw her as the strongest candidate in what almost certainly would be a referendum on the Senate Majority Leader.

The Most Important Number in Politics Today

8 That's the number of American military servicemen killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, casualties that come amid a heated debate inside the Obama White House about the proper next steps in the war-torn country.

The Palin Wars: Part LXII

When Steve Schmidt, former campaign manager for Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said late last week that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican presidential nominee in 2012 would be "catastrophic" for the party, he set off another in a series of skirmishes between the pro and anti-Palin camps within the GOP.

Morning Fix: RGA Unloads in Virginia

The Republican Governors Association is doubling down on comments on taxes made by state Sen. Creigh Deeds last month with new television ads that will flood the Washington, D.C. media market today.

The Fix: October 4, 2009 - October 10, 2009