There are now five senate races too close to call, according to the Los Angeles Times today. Another two are expected to be won by Democrats.

In Colorado, there is Tom Strickland in a dead heat to replace Republican freshman Senator Wayne Allard. The other four hot races include a Republican-held seat in New Hampshire and Democrat-held seats in Missouri, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Democrat Frank Lautenberg is favored to win in New Jersey and a Democratic challenger is favored to win a GOP seat in Arkansas.

With a net gain of one seat, Republicans would win control of the Congress.

The seven races being watched, ranked in the order of likelihood that the seats may change hands (according to the Times) are:

"ARKANSAS: Battered by negative publicity about his divorce and remarriage to a former aide, Republican Sen. Tim Hutchinson, a social conservative elected in 1996, is considered the incumbent most likely to lose his seat. Democratic Atty. Gen. Mark Pryor has portrayed himself as a centrist and populist, mixing promises to reach across party lines with pledges to confront pharmaceutical companies and increase education funding."

"NEW HAMPSHIRE: Republicans thought the seat had moved safely into their column when Rep. John E. Sununu beat quirky incumbent Sen. Bob Smith in a primary last month. But the Democratic nominee, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, has caught — and, in some surveys, passed — Sununu with a populist message that has attacked him for supporting private accounts under Social Security and accused him of cozying up to corporate tax cheats."

"MISSOURI: Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan was appointed to the seat after her husband, Mel, died in a plane crash just before the 2000 vote and still won more votes than the then-GOP incumbent, John Ashcroft. But she's getting all she can handle from Talent. The two seem to be battling to a draw on issues; the key may be whether Carnahan can convincingly rebut charges she's not up to the job."

"SOUTH DAKOTA: Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson and Thune have engaged in the heavyweight title fight of the election year — a 15-round struggle with relentless charges and countercharges from the candidates, heavy advertising by outside groups and inescapable national overtones. (At times it has seemed a proxy war between Bush and Daschle.) Democrats are optimistic about their turnout efforts, but this state leans strongly toward Republicans."

"MINNESOTA: Democrats remain cautiously optimistic about Wellstone's chances. But Republican Coleman, a former Democrat, was making inroads by questioning Wellstone's defense record, even before the incumbent voted against the use of force in Iraq."

"COLORADO: Sen. Wayne Allard hasn't established much of a public identity in his first term. In polls over the last two years, he has almost always attracted less than 45% support — an ominous sign for an incumbent. The state's GOP inclination could still carry him past Democrat Tom Strickland, whom Allard beat in 1996. But "Republicans are as nervous as can be," Denver pollster Floyd Ciruli said."

"NEW JERSEY: Forrester had surged into the lead amid revulsion over Torricelli's ethics problems. But when Torricelli withdrew in favor of former Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, Forrester lost his principal argument. Lautenberg quickly went ahead in most surveys by portraying Forrester as too conservative for the state. The bad taste left by Torricelli's departure has kept Forrester close, but the state's strong Democratic lean is tilting the race toward Lautenberg. Over the last six weeks, Republicans benefited from an increased focus on national security issues generated by the debate over a possible war with Iraq. But that advantage may have peaked too soon."