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Use the following questions to explore the Senate races taking place this year. Students should have a basic understanding of campaigns and elections and the roles of the Senate and its members.

Watch House & Senate Race Analysis

Go to House race activity

Introductory Questions
How often are senators up for "re-election"? Does the incumbent have an advantage in a Senate election? What are some reasons a senator would retire? How does a party get to be the "majority" party in the Senate? What are the advantages to being in the majority? Are Senators who are in leadership posts or in the majority better able to serve their constituents? When voting, should citizens consider which is the majority party and whether or not the incumbent (if running) has a leadership post? What can a Senator do for your state? For the whole country? How is a Senate race different than the race for the House? for president?

Senate Overview

1. What year were (most of) the senators running for re-election this year last elected?

2. How many states are having a U.S. Senate election in 2004? How many Senate races are there in 2004?

3. Which party is currently in control of the Senate?

4. How many seats do the Democrats need to win to gain the control of the Senate?

5. Find out who has raised the largest amount of money among the candidates for the U.S. Senate election. How much money does the candidate have and as of what date?

Senate Races to Watch

The following Senate races have been declared "toss ups" by The Cook Political Report as of 3/30/04: FL, LA, NC, SC, SD, CO, IL, OK, AK.

6. What common factor has contributed to placing Florida, North Carolina and Colorado on this list?

7. In what state is a former Bush cabinet secretary running for U.S. Senate?

8. If the Democratic candidate in this race wins, he will be the only African American in the Senate.

9. What member of the Senate leadership is in competitive race?

10. What current senator is running to keep the seat held by her father?

Senate Race from Your State

11. Will a U.S. Senate election be held in your state this year?

12. If yes, list the names of the major candidates and their parties. Look them up on the campaign database and note the total amount of funds raised, and how much of that has been from individuals, and how much from PACs.

13. If no, name the incumbents and identify their party. When will they be up for re-election? How much campaign money have they raised?

14. Did Al Gore or George W. Bush win your state's electoral votes in 2000? Do your state's senators belong to the same party as the electoral winner?

15. How old do you have to be to register to vote?

C-SPAN in the Classroom
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Curriculum Advisory Team

Road to the White House
C-SPAN's weekly look at the candidates, issues and events that shape the 2004 Presidential race.

2004 Vote
Information about presidential and congressional candidates running in the 2004 election.

3 Branches of Government
Learn about the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the U.S. government.

Vocabulary & Definitions
Check back for more terms as the campaign progresses.

Standard-Based Topics
Review standard-based topics with
C-SPAN in the Classroom's 2004 Vote web resources.

Campaigns & Elections Home
Link from here to all of our Vote 2004 Resources for the classroom.

Classroom Resources
Search our teaching resources by curriculum topic.

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