2008 will be a great election for Democrats in the Senate.

(I love it when Howie smiles..)

"2008 will be a great election for Democrats in the Senate." That's according to The New Republic: "In Texas, Republican incumbent John Cornyn is unpopular, and state representative and Lt. Col. Rick Noriega could pose problems for him."

That follows suit with the MSNBC: "Senate prospects seem brighter for Democrats: Craig incident adds to GOP woes with 22 seats to defend in 2008...it now looks possible that in next year’s elections the Democrats just might attain the 60 seats they need to foil Republican filibusters. "

Over at Booman, they're adding up the Democratic seats, and agree that we may be able to pull a fillabuster-proof majority in the Senate in 08, "I haven't even mentioned the most unpopular senator of all...John Cornyn of Texas. He is facing two formidable candidates in attorney Mikal Watts and State Senator (sic) Rick Noriega. This race is insurance on that 62 mark."

Kos has another article considering Texas a contestable race, raking us a "2nd-Tier" race, meaning that we're not quite a shoo-in by any means. That just means we need to work harder!

Skulnik over at kos also agrees, ranking the Texas race as #8 of 34 most likely seats to change party affiliation, placing our race in the top quarter.

If I recall in "mainstream journalism", three sources makes a credible story, and all of these guys seem to agree that the Texas race will play a major role in the direction our Senate will be headed. It's amazing that all over the Internets, Rick Noriega is getting noticed, kicking ass and taking names!

UPDATE: CBS News jumps on the bandwagon, "It is very likely that Republicans will pick up no more than one seat, while Democrats may pick up as many as seven seats."