We’ll dig a little further into the Wachovia Capital Markets look at the upcoming election year produced by Marcie Ryvicker and staff. The battle for the House of Representatives is expected to be very hot. The Democratic Party wrestled control away from the Republicans in 2006. They are looking to grab more territory in near-miss districts. Meanwhile, the Republicans hope to reclaim their former territory by picking off vulnerable freshmen who came in last time. Wachovia expects total 2006 expenditure of 337M to be exceeded in 2008.
WCM expects particularly hot races in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York and Ohio, with at least moderate heat in Alaska, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
On the gubernatorial front, it’ll be a limited slate in 2008. Elections are on the ballot in only 11 states. Heatseekers include Indiana, Missouri and North Carolina. The others are Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia. WCM is expecting spending on these races to top 100M.
