Regardless of your political persuasion, your love of Republicans or Democrats, conservatives, or liberals, this is shaping up to be the most interesting mid-term election since 1994.

Republicans took control of Congress that year, but they have been unable to steadily increase their majorities. With the election of George W. Bush in 2000, the GOP gained full control of the elected branches of government for the first time in a half century.

Bush's popularity seemingly innoculated the GOP from the typical mid-term setbacks in 2002. The President's re-election in 2004 was a narrrow victory, but it ushered in strong Republican control of the U.S. Senate (55-45), and the GOP maintained a slim majority in the U.S. House.

For this upcoming cycle of elections, the Republicans are in much worse shape, at least as it stands now. The President's popularity rivals Harry Truman's in 1952, andd the war in Iraq is unpopular. To take control of Congress, the Democrats need to gain six Senate and 15 House seats.

Of the 33 Senate campaigns, 18 are Democratic seats, while 15 are Republican. Almost all of the Democrats' seats seem safe for now, with the possible exceptions of MD and NJ, which are leaning toward the Democrats. The Democrats likely have all of their current seats in hand, so they can focus most of their resources on picking-up Republican seats, of which they need six.

Of the 15 GOP seats contested eight appear to be safely Republican, which means the GOP have 48 seats in hand, which means they need two more to keep control of the Senate (the Republicans can keep control of the chamber with 50 seats due to the Vice President's ability to break ties).

Control of the Senate will hinge on the races in OH, VA, TN, MO, PA, MT, and RI. The Republicans need to win two of these elections, and the Democrats need to win six of the seven. This is a tall order for the Democrats, but not impossible.

Current polling suggests the Democrats are leading in OH, PA, and RI. Assuming they win those, they must pick up three more seats. Montana, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri all went strongly for Bush in 2004. (Missouri's presidential election was the closest, and Bush won that by 7 points.) Also, of those four, three feature incumbent Republican senators, and the only exception, Tennessee, has the current Republican majority leader (Sen. Frist) stepping down. George Bush beat John Kerry by fourteen percent in the Volunteer State in 2004.

There is a possibility, however slim, the Democrats could win TN, VA, MT, and MO. In Tennessee, the Democrats are firmly in control of the gubernatorial election, and Harold Ford, Jr., the Democratic Senate candidate, has sought to make in-roads with Republican moderates in middle Tennessee. Ford is positioning himself as pro-life, pro-gun, religious Democrat, and while it may not be enough to win an election, it might be.

In Virginia, George Allen, incumbent Republican, is facing James Webb, a novelist and former Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration. Allen has botched his campaign, and his effort to paint Webb as a sexual deviant due to some risque passages in Webb's novels, may have backfired. Recent polls show the race tilting toward Webb.

In Montana, Republican incumbent Conrad Burns is connected, to the Jack Abramoff scandal, a swirling cauldron of misconduct that is swallowing Wahington's elite. In Missouri, Jim Talent, the Republican incumbent is in a heated contest with Claire McCaskill. Talent's hold is tenuous, and emotional issues, like the war and stem-cell research, are pivotal and make the race volatile.

While it may be unlikely, there seems some reason to believe the Democrats could gain control of the Senate. Then again, given the tight races, it may be equally likely the Republicans win in VA, TN, MT, and MO. What will happen? Tune in next Tuesday to find out for sure.