With most of the spotlight focused on the presidential campaigns and their online fundraising, YouTube videos or number of MySpace friends, I thought it would be nice to change it up and take a quick glance at the 2008 Senate races. Now, I know we are quite a ways away from Election Day and Senate campaigns don’t usually ramp up until the beginning of Election year. However, with the current political climate as it is, Republicans can’t afford to look the other way and be passive implementing new media.

Let’s recap what happened the past 2 elections. During the 2004 cycle, (when I worked at the NRSC), Republicans overall, picked up 4 seats, mostly in the South. Felt kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. The highlight was Senator John Thune knocking off then, Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Unfortunately things didn’t quite go our way in 2006. I wasn’t at the NRSC that cycle, but don’t think anything, including my presence would have helped to retain the majority. Okay, so they would have had to listen to a few more bad jokes if I were there.

Now, in 2008, the Republican Party has to defend 21 seats, in some not so friendly territory. The Democrats are specifically gunning for Senator Gordon Smith, Senator John Sununu, Senator Susan Collins, and Senator Norm Coleman. Colorado is also a top target of the DSCC, and Republicans do not have a top tier candidate, yet. We also face the possible resignation of a few more members from the upper house, bringing even more seats into play, but we’ll talk about those seats, if and when those members actually retire.

Currently, Smith and Coleman have templates up, while Sununu and Collins do not. I fully expect all of these campaigns to go on-line with a sorted array of new media outreach tools. To what degree each campaign can harness these technologies and strategies, might very well determine who is left standing on November 5, 2008. Time will tell.