PURE GOLD: LET’S NOT FORGET THE SENATE RACES.

The wind is at the Democrats’ backs in the battle for Senate control with one big surprise in the making: Liddy Dole of North Carolina may join husband Bob in retirement.

Kay Hagan, a feisty state senator, only recently took the lead against Liddy, who had held a steady edge in September.

Hagan has rapped Dole for for being a loyal Bush follower, and for being lethargic on the Senate floor.

There are 11 seriously contested seats, with ten currently occupied by Republicans and only one by a Democrat. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana continues to hold a slim lead over State Treasurer John Kennedy, who used to be a Democrat. Landrieu has made the most of her incumbency by fighting for more Federal aid for her state, which remains in dire financial straits. If current trends hold, Democrats should pick up seven seats in the next Senate, giving them 56. Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont, will give them 57. Joe Lieberman, the renegade Democrat, will usually go with them on domestic policy. But they will still be short of the 60 votes needed to stop a filibuster.

Besides North Carolina, Democrats should win easily in Virginia and New Mexico, and win modestly in New Hampshire, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska. It’s an uphill fight in Minnesota and long shots in Maine and Mississippi. Pollsters indicate the Democrats have about a one percent chance of winning ten seats.

A rundown of contested Senate seats provides this picture:

In Alaska, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich,an intellectual and liberal, recently won endorsement from the local police department in his race against the veteran Sen. Ted Stevens, who is now on trial for alleged corruption. Begich holds a lead of between two and three points, with four of the five most recent polls giving him the edge. Fellow Republican Sarah Palin has refused to endorse Stevens.

In Colorado, Mark Udall has about a five point lead over the conservative and well-financed Rep. Bob Schaffer. Udall leads in every poll, with three showing him ahead by eight to 11 points.

The race in New Hampshire has gotten tighter, but Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, the former governor, is holding onto a three-point lead. Six of seven polls see her beating incumbent Sen. John Sununu who has the burden of being a pretty solid Bushie in a state conspicuously unhappy with the current president.

Things have taken a turn for Democrats in Oregon, thanks in part to Obama’s strong lead in the Presidential race of 14 points. State House Speaker Jeff Merkeley has picked up seven points since August, and has moved into the lead against incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith, one of the last of the GOP moderates.

The laughers for Democrats are in Virginia and New Mexico. While the Presidential race in Virginia is a toss-up (although now leaning Democratic) former Gov. Mark Warner is scalping another ex-governor, Jim Gilmore , for a seat being vacated by John Warner, who is retiring. The Democratic Warner keeps adding to his margin, which could reach 25 points.

In New Mexico, Tom Udall, cousin of Mark in Colorado, has built a 14-point lead over Rep. Steve Pearce, taking the Independent vote by 30 points and the Hispanic vote by 28 points.

Possibly the tightest race is shaping up in Minnesota, where GOP Sen. Norm Coleman has lost much of his lead over the comedian and radio commentator Al Franken. Coleman has been sniping at Franken’s early contributions as a writer for Saturday Night Live. Franken plays up Coleman’s support for Social Security privatization, quoting Coleman for saying that Bush was “brave and courageous” for proposing it.

Realistically, it looks as though the GOP will retain two seats, in Mississippi and Maine, that were in play early in the summer. Republican Roger Wicker, filling out the term of retiring Trent Lott, has taken a seven point lead over former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. Since the days of civil rights legislation under Lyndon Johnson, Democrats have had a difficult time winning important political battles in Ole Miss.

The best news for Republicans is in Maine, where Sen. Susan Collins (who said she would retire but changed her mind) has pulled far ahead of Rep. Tom Allen by 16 points. Moderate Republicanism in the Senate could be reduced to three members, with only Collins, Olympia Snowe and Arlen Spector.

The liberal DailyKos dreams of a filibuster-proof Senate and suggests that Senatorial races in Kentucky, Nebraska and Texas are in play, but that seems like wishful thinking.

Of course, if Obama makes it to the White House, the Democrats are unlikely to face vetoes that require 67 votes to overcome.