Judd Gregg sends shockwaves through the media with his surprising withdrawal from Obama’s cabinet, shaking up the New Hampshire Senate race. He says he is unlikely to seek re-election in 2010 and Rothenberg continues to call the race a toss-up. New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes, who heads a children’s rock group, seems a likely contender. Finally, some think the GOP can call Gregg’s rejection of the popular president another milestone in the resolidification of the party. Before the Gregg news hit, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, the DSCC chief, was claiming the Dems will pick up Senate seats for the third straight time in 2010:
[T]he party [will] target five open GOP seats and would mount challenges to sitting incumbents in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
Larry Sabato puts that potential sitting-party pick-up in historical perspective. Finally, the GOP’s “Drill, Baby, Drill!” mantra—one of the fall campaign’s crowning products—may be due for tune-up. And don’t forget to follow our Twitter coverage of today’s GOP Tech Summit, now underway.