Jim Webb, who squeaked out a victory for Senate in Virginia in 2006, will leave the Senate after one term, adding another to the many opportunities for Republicans in the Senate in 2012.

Tomorrow is election day, so this is the last round of updates to the FDL Hot House list. (In case you missed here are the updates from Saturday and Sunday.) Join us Tuesday night as we check in on the only polls that really matter. Till then, check out 12 bellwether races that could give us early clues on the night’s trends.

Also, don’t forget to enter FDL’s Election Projection Challenge, and don’t forget to vote!

In many Congressional elections, most close races tend to break in the same direction at the last minute–and this year is unlikely to be any different. If the bulk of undecided voters on the east coast decide at the polling station to vote for Republicans, there is a good chance that the same thing happened [...]

A new SurveyUSA poll out today shows Tom Perriello trailing Republican Robert Hurt by 23 points.  In February, prior to the health care vote, PPP polling showed Perriello essentially tied with Hurt. This confirms what FDL has been saying for months:  forcing members of Congress like Tom Perriello to vote for the health care bill was [...]

Fun’s fun ’til somebody blows up a house.

The stories being published about Tea Party member Mike Troxel’s troll fail have defused brewing intimidation. The stories also reveal many things about Tea Party members, some of which aren’t very pretty.

Tom Perriello has decided to vote for the health care bill, per CNN. I had him as a lean Yes in my whip count. So that makes it 196-208, with still 204-211 with leaners. None of the true undecideds have announced today.

Diane Watson — the Progressive Caucus whip who was responsible for whipping members to oppose any bill that didn’t have a public plan (and blew it) — is now caving herself. She sang that old standby, “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” to Dave Dayen last night.

Here’s Diane Watson’s Facebook page. And her office: DC: 202-225-7084, LA 323-965-1422