The Fix and Post senior political reporter -- and all-around good guy -- Dan Balz sat down last night to mull over our ratings of the top Senate and governors races around the country. With the election now less than 100 days away, many of these races are coming into clearer focus and we have made a series of ratings changes to reflect the shifting dynamics. We'll be periodically making further ratings evaluations (and changes) as the midterms draw closer. All of our changes are below. And, these ratings changes gives us a great opportunity to plug the absolutely amazing House, Senate and gubernatorial Post maps. Not only can you get the latest and greatest Post rankings but you can also see detailed historical information on the states and districts in play as well as fundraising numbers. SENATE * Arkansas (Move from Toss Up to Lean Republican): Sen. Blanche


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57); font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal;">1. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has reserved television time in 56 districts at a cost of $49 million, the first tangible sign of how the majority party views the playing field this fall. Of the 56 districts in which the DCCC has reserved time, 50 are currently controlled by Democrats. The six Republican-held seat targeted are Delaware's at-large, Florida's 25th Hawaii's 1st, Illinois' 10th, Louisiana's 2nd and Pennsylvania's 15th. President Barack Obama carried all but the Florida seat, which he lost by a single percentage point, in 2008. Nearly 20 percent of the districts where Democrats have reserved air time are located in Ohio (1st, 13th, 15th, 16th and 18th) and Pennsylvania (3rd, 7th, 10th, 11th and 15th). As interesting as the districts that are included in the DCCC ad buy are, those that aren't are equally noteworthy. Among the seats left off the


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By Felicia Sonmez Rep. Mary Fallin (R) won the Republican nod in Oklahoma's open-seat gubernatorial race, clinching the nomination outright in a four-candidate field. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins appeared headed toward a victory over state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who had held a double-digit lead in polling heading into the primary. Fallin, a two-term congresswoman and former lieutenant governor who has been endorsed by national Republicans including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, won the GOP nod outright with 59 percent. Her main rival, state Sen. Randy Brogdon, won 34 percent while two other challengers, businessman Robert Hubbard and retired businessman Roger Jackson, were in the single digits. Meanwhile, Askins was ahead with 53 percent over Edmondson who had 47 percent. Edmondson -- the son of former Rep. Ed Edmondson (D) and the nephew of former Gov. and Sen. J. Howard Edmondson (D) -- had been the


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By Lori Montgomery The battle over the Bush tax cuts moved to the Oval Office on Tuesday morning. In a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties, President Obama reiterated his intention to ditch the portion of the cuts that benefit the wealthy when they expire in January, saying the country can't afford them. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) fired back that raising taxes on high earners means kicking many small businesses when they're trying to recover from the recession. Aides in both parties said that Obama maintained his focus on the deficit, pointing out that the tax cuts, enacted in 2001 and expanded in 2003, were written in such a way to leave the next administration dealing with the thorny question of whether to extend them despite their impact on the deficit. Boehner responded: "I wasn't there. I didn't structure that deal." There followed a momentary silence.


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By Felicia Sonmez Former state Sen. Dino Rossi (R) said today that he would support repealing the financial regulatory reform law, becoming the first candidate this cycle to advocate for doing away with the measure. "I think we should," Rossi said when asked in an appearance on the ABC/Washington Post "Top Line" program whether he'd support repealing the law. He charged that the measure, which President Barack Obama signed into law last week, will reduce the amount of money that small businesses have available; Rossi also argued that it "created six super banks and left Fannie [Mae] and Freddie [Mac], which were at the epicenter of the problem, out of the deal." Democrats quickly cast Rossi's statement as indicative of the candidate's "loyalty to big banks over Washington families." Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokeswoman Deirdre Murphy charged that Rossi "is out of step with Washington values and not on


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By Aaron Blake Has the anti-establishment movement of 2010 already gone bust? Despite the voters' utter distaste for parties and the political establishment, there have been only a handful of serious primary challenges to sitting Members of Congress and even fewer viable third-party candidates have emerged in the run-up to the fall election. The reason? Money. If money is the leading indicator (and, sorry, it probably is) of viability, few incumbents have anything to be concerned about the rest of the primary season, and even fewer candidates should worry about a third-party candidate ruining their victory party. Take Oklahoma Democratic Rep. Dan Boren who is being challenged from his ideological left by state Sen. Jim Wilson today. As of July 7, Boren had $1.4 million in the bank while Wilson had just $18,000 (and that's with rounding up!) Of the four incumbent members of Congress to lose in primaries so


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