You read that right.  It's my "Name Your Price" subscription program.  Why am I doing it this way?  Well, when faced with the prospect of investing all the time, energy, and money this site requires, I had to make a decision.  In 2004, I was faced with the same decision.  The solution I chose then was to provide daily email updates to augment my published weekly updates here on the website.  Several hundred of you sent in up to $40 for a subscription. (The charge for the emails decreased as the election drew nearer.)  That worked well but severely limited the number of people who could fully benefit from what Election Projection had to offer.

This year, I decided that I wanted to enable as many people as possible to get everything on Election Projection.  That's why I've started the "Name Your Price" subscription program.  You can have access to the premium content for whatever you can give.

Take a moment to read about Election Projection Premium Content and all the good stuff it has to offer.  As I said, a large number of you helped out Election Projection in 2004 by subscribing to the daily email updates.  For that I am deeply grateful.  This year, I need your help once again.  Please subscribe today.  Thank you.

NOTE:  To insure uninterrupted access to the premium content, be sure to send in your contribution now - it will no longer be available to non-subscribers starting at midnight September 1st.

Be sure to catch "August Part 1" as well.  Fellow blogger John Hawkins of Right Wing News is featured in that clip.

Update:  Yesterday, John Hawkins posted a great rundown on why Rudy Giuliani should not be the GOP presidential nominee in 2008.  I heartily agree with all his points.  Since the very beginning of the all the chatter about him becoming the GOP nominee, I've cringed at the thought.  From a social conservative's viewpoint, we might as well nominate Lincoln Chafee.

You might have noticed the "premium" designation in the title of the page.  Yes, I will be offering a subscription to much of the content on this website come September 1st.  With the cost and time it takes to run and maintain EP, I have to do something to generate some income and the ads just aren't enough.  Don't fear though - getting access to the premium content will be nearly painless.  That's because I'm initiating a first on the web as far as I know.

A "Name Your Price" subscription can be yours for whatever you can give.  No minimum.  (And no maximum, either!)  Check here for all the details.  In 2004, several hundred of you helped out Election Projection by subscribing to my daily email updates.  This year, I'm counting on you once again to help me keep Election Projection up and running.  Thanks in advance for your support.  It is greatly appreciated.

Beyond just an endorsement, these two influential African-Americans are actively working to help Steele win the seat.  Mr. Simmons is holding a fundraiser for him tonight and Ms. Hughes will be there.

In the end, Steele must be considered a long shot in this race still, but with endorsements like this, perhaps we're seeing a legitimization of Republican African-American candidates that bodes well for the GOP's chances to gain a larger share of the black vote in future elections.  And who knows?  Maybe this news will give Steele the extra percentage points he needs to pull off an upset.

The Blogging Caesar says, "Not so fast!"  Why?  As I scoured the internet recently searching for polls to include in my projections, I found a remarkable pattern among polls taken in hotly-contested congressional districts currently held by the GOP.  These polls reveal how a sizable Democratic advantage in generic polls may not translate to a sizable gain in House seats.  Before you scream "GOP spin!" let me explain.

Several polling outfits have been asking two different questions when conducting their polls.  The first is the named head-to-head question such as, "In November, do you plan to vote for Republican [Candidate's name] or Democrat [Candidate's name]?  The second is the generic "Will you vote for the Republican or the Democrat in November?"  The responses to these two questions have been amazingly disparate.

In order to illustrate my findings, I've configured the following table.  This first column denotes the race in question.  The second column contains the result of the head-to-head poll in that district, and the third contains the result of the generic vote question.  In each case, a positive number indicates a GOP advantage.  As you can see, the discrepancy between the two results is stark.

NOTE:  I cannot reveal the sources for these polls because I found them behind a subscriber wall.  I will say this about them, however.  They were conducted by three different polling firms, and they were all taken sometime in the last 3 months or so.

This eye-opening trend leads to the following conclusion:  Generic polls may uncover a sense of dissatisfaction with the majority party in Washington, but they do not seem, as head-to-head polls show, to indicate a willingness to kick the bums out.  It's as though the electorate has grown weary of GOP control, but doesn't see the Democratic candidate in these closely-held GOP districts as a viable alternative. 

Going forward, I'm convinced the GOP may be able to retain their majorities in both chambers of Congress, even if they continue to lag the Democrats significantly in generic congressional polls.  Until head-to-head polls in the close districts begin to show comparable results, I'm not too worried about the generics.

Update:  I incorrectly published the Arizona poll as AZ 8.  It should have been AZ 5.

Now that all this is cleared up, I've decided to change his party designation back to independent (yes, I know he's technically a socialist) rather than pointlessly carrying him as a Democrat until after the primary.  The projection page and the banner at the top of this page have been updated to reflect this change.

I'll start with the two races whose projections changed from one party to another.  Coincidentally, they are both in Rhode Island.

I do hereby seal and deliver this edict this Thursday, the 10th of August, in the year of our Lord, 2006.

In a recent Gallup poll, a full 78% of those polled favor keeping the troops in Iraq for at least a year.  A strong plurality (45%) believe the troops should stay as long as it takes, with 7% of those desiring more troops to be sent.  If the GOP can hang the "give-up-and-go-home" mantle on Democrats across the board - much as the Dems want to tie all Republicans to the "culture of corruption" - then I believe they stand to gain substantial political advantage.

In this environment of Republican vulnerability, any advantage must be pursued and guarded.  The message that Democrats are weak on defense has propelled many a GOPer into office or staved off a Democratic challenger.  This year, with so much of the Democrats' efforts seemingly designed to fortify that impression, the GOP would be foolish not to make that charge a centerpiece in this year's campaigns once again.

I regret that Lieberman lost (though he may keep the seat running as an independent) because he represented reasonableness on the left.  His loss, in my opinion, is a sad testament to the present-day nature of the Demcratic party.  In the end, however, Ned Lamont's name on the ballot may give the GOP powerful ammunition to confront the predicted Democratic wave in November.

For results as they come in this evening, check out the following websites...

Colorado Connecticut

Michigan Missouri

Georgia

Also, visit The Lunchbucket Conservative this evening for coverage of the Michigan primary results.  They'll be live-blogging as the returns come in.

BONUS POLL:
Joe Lieberman is in serious trouble.  Recent polls have shown him to be considerably behind his anti-war challenger.  However, today's poll from Quinnipiac seems to indicate Lieberman is drawing close as voting day approaches.  Who do you think will win?  This poll will remain open until around noon tomorrow.

Update:  Poll closed at 12:40pm, 08/08/06.  Here are the results.

Who will win the Democratic Senate nomination in Connecticut? Selection   Votes Joe Lieberman  31% 253 Ned Lamont  69% 569 822 votes total Free polls from Pollhost.com Poll results are subject to error. Pollhost.com does not pre-screen the content of polls created by Pollhost customers.

Hat tip:  Lorie Byrd

Like Lorie says, "be sure to read to the very end."  Indeed.

I don't know much about the three gentlemen vying for the nomination, but Alpha Patriot does - and he favors Ed Bryant.  Says Alpha, "The decision is clear.  Vote Ed Bryant, the true conservative in the race."