Nation's center may get its say Tuesday

Ohio

Mike DeWine (R)

Incumbent

Sherrod Brown (D)

DeWine has been harmed by a struggling state economy and fallout from a scandal that ensnared other state GOP

officials. Brown, a liberal House member from the Cleveland area, is now ahead in the polls.

Rhode Island

Lincoln Chafee (R)

Incumbent

Sheldon Whitehouse (D)

Chafee was appointed to his father's seat in 1999 and won it outright a year later. His family name and his generally liberal voting record may not be enough to survive in a strongly Democratic state.

Montana

Conrad Burns (R)

Incumbent

Jon Tester (D)

Burns was tainted by links to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and verbal gaffes on the campaign trail. Tester, a rancher, staked out a lead in the polls, but the race has tightened. The state's GOP roots could save Burns.

Virginia

George Allen (R)

Incumbent

Jim Webb (D)

Allen began his reelection bid as a potential presidential contender in 2008; now, a mistake-plagued campaign may leave him jobless. Allen's reference to a Democratic volunteer of Indian descent as "Macaca," questions about whether he once used racial slurs to refer to black people, and attacks on sexually explicit passages in novels written by Webb all have marked this bizarre contest. The race is a tossup.

Tennessee

Bob Corker (R)

Harold E. Ford Jr. (D)

Fighting for the seat Republican Bill Frist is giving up, Ford is attempting to become the first black elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction. He has run a strong race, but a win over Corker would be seen as a surprise.

Arizona

Jon Kyl (R)

Incumbent

Jim Pederson (D)

With growing numbers of suburban and Latino voters changing the state's political complexion, Democrats see an outside chance at beating Kyl. Pederson got last-minute help from the national party.

Missouri

Jim Talent (R)

Incumbent

Claire McCaskill (D)

Talent and McCaskill have been locked in the country's tightest race - and the one that may end up determining Senate control. Talent is banking on strong support from rural voters who have been crucial to Republican successes here and elsewhere in recent years.

---

Democratic-held

seats at risk

New Jersey

Robert Menendez (D)

Incumbent

Tom Kean Jr. (R)