Mid-term election season is in full swing and there are at least three races that have both strategic and symbolic significance for the Obama administration. A special Congressional election in Hawaii along with Senate races in Delaware and Illinois have the Obama/Biden home team trailing in the polls and at risk of suffering embarrassing defeats.

Continued...

In the fight for the Illinois Senate seat formerly held by President Obama, Republican Congressman Mark Kirk is leading Democratic State Treasurer and Obama political ally Alexi Giannoulias 46% to 38%. (source) In addition to the anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping the country, Mr. Giannoulias is losing support due to the recent government seizure of Broadway Bank; an institution owned by the Giannoulias family at which the candidate was a senior loan officer when the bank was making sizeable loans to convicted members of organized crime. That might still be "Chicago style" but Illinois voters are rejecting it by a wide margin.

Then there's Hawaii's first Congresstional district's all-mail ballot next week to replace Representative Neil Abercrombie (D) who resigned to run for governor of the state. This winner-take-all election pits two Democrats, former US Representative Ed Case and state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa, against one Republican, Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou and the Democratic party's inability to settle on one candidate is causing valid concern over a split vote. Current polls show Mr. Case taking 29% of the vote, Ms. Hanabusa earning 28% and Mr. Djou leading the way with 32%. (source) Definitely not a sure thing for the Republican in the sentimental home state of Barack Obama (the president won 70% of the Hawaiian vote in 2008), but enough of a possible victory to warrant an all-hands-on-deck fundraising campaign by House GOP leaders. (source)

Meanwhile, the Delaware Senate seat that Vice President Joe Biden kept in Democratic hands since 1973 may very likely be won by a Republican in November. In the latest poll, US Representative Mike Castle (R) is leading County Executive Chris Coons (D) by 18 points (53% to 35%). How is Representative Castle doing it in the ultra-blue state of Delaware? According to a statement released by the Castle camp early on, "Mike's campaign will be about solutions to issues that will make a difference: economic growth, runaway federal spending, and getting Delawareans back to work." (source) In other words, what the people of his state and the country want from their government. What a unique concept!

While a Republican victory in any of these three races would help shift the balance of power in Washington, such victories would also send a sobering message to the administration that even in their own political home towns, the American people want different and better government than what they have been providing.