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Senate polls

The latest Rasmussen Reports poll on the Senate race in Tennessee shows Republican Bob Corker with a 53 percent to 45 percent lead over Democrat Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr.

The survey of 500 likely voters, conducted Thursday, has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

That result tipped the Tennessee race from "tossup" to "leans Republican" in Rasmussen's "Senate Balance of Power" analysis, which shows 45 Democrat seats, four "lean Democrat," 48 Republican and one "lean Republican" seats. Control of the Senate, according to Rasmussen, now depends largely on two remaining "tossup" seats in Missouri and Virginia.

The latest Rasmussen poll in Missouri has Republican Sen. Jim Talent with a 48 percent to 46 percent lead over Democrat Claire McCaskill. In Virginia, Rasmussen shows Republican Sen. George Allen narrowly leading Democrat James H. Webb Jr., 49 percent to 48 percent.

Spelling contest

"In the 22nd District of Texas -- Tom DeLay'sold district -- workers for Republican write-in candidate Shelley Sekula Gibbs are handing out pamphlets that warn" in screaming all-capital letters, "don't let Nick Lampson and his liberal Democrat allies take away your choice this election," Byron York writes at National Review Online (www.nationalreview.com).

"The handout lays out instructions for writing in Gibbs' name, plus the urgent directive [also in all-caps] 'Remember on Tuesday November 7, vote for Shelley Sekula Gibbs for U.S. representative twice!'

"The twice! part refers to the fact that, to fully support Sekula Gibbs, people who want to vote for her have to first vote for her to finish out the last couple of months of DeLay's term -- she's on the ballot for that -- and then write in her name to vote for her to be the next full-term congressperson from the district," Mr. York said.