With the convention over, and the polls focusing on a "Bush Bounce," it's a good time to take stock of the most critical senate races. There are eight critical races, according to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, which we received a complimentary edition of today:

There are 34 senate races this year, 19 of which involve seats currently held by Democrats. Of the 19 seats, 10 are considered safe and another two (Barbara Boxer and Russ Feingold) are considered probably safe. That leaves 7 seats, of which that of Zell Miller in Georgia, is considered a goner. That leaves 6.

Of the 6, there are 5 seats considered highly vulnerable, 4 of which are now held by senators not running for re-election, so the races in those 4 will be open and between newbies. The 5th highly vulnerable seat is that of Tom Daschle. The sixth seat is considered merely vulnerable, and is now held by Patty Murray of Washington.

So, here are the six races Democrats need to work hardest to preserve, and the candidates running for them:

1. Florida - Democrat Betty Castor (vs. Mel Martinez)
2. Lousiana - Democrat still unknown (vs. David Vitter)
3. North Carolina - Democrat Erskine Bowles (vs. Richard Burr)
4. South Carolina - Democrat Inez Tenenbaum (vs. Jim deMint
5. South Dakota- Democrat Tom Daschle (vs. John Thune)

On the Republican side, there are three highly vulnerable seats and one likely switch (Illinois will go to Barak Obama.) There are no merely vulnerable seats. Here are the three critical seats: