Illinois Senate race the first of many potential trouble spots for Dems in 2010

On Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats in Illinois voted in primaries to select candidates to compete for Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. Experts think that, much like what happened with Scott Brown in Massachusetts, Republicans have a good chance of picking up a traditionally Democratic seat. That race is one of seven in which the Democrats, who currently hold 59 of the 100 seats in the Senate, are playing defense and will have to worry about another Scott Brown-style surprise. Here’s a rundown of all seven: Illinois – Tuesday’s Democratic primary was won by 33-year-old State Treasurer Alex Giannoulias. Giannoulias is a political neophyte who has yet to serve a full term in office. His opponent will be centrist Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, who fended off challenges from the two right-wing Tea Party candidates. Some think the race has the potential to become yet another Illinois-based "pain in the neck" for the president, who has already had to endure the indictment of Rod Blagojevich and the governor's controversial appointment of Roland Burris to temporarily fill his Senate seat. Arkansas – Many feel that two-term Senator Blanche Lincoln may be the most vulnerable of all the 2010 Senate Democratic incumbents. John McCain won her state in the 2008 presidential election, and her approval ratings in Arkansas recently dipped below 40 percent. Six Republicans are vying for the party's nomination to oppose her, and recent polls have found all six capable of beating her if an election