There are five members of the Senate Agriculture Committee that are up for re-election next month. They are:
· Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chairwoman of the committee, is being challenged by former Congressmen Pete Hoekstra (R-MI). Stabenow is favored to win.
· Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is being challenged by Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel. Latest polls have Brown leading in a close race.
· Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is being challenged by Tom Smith, who worked in coal mining. Latest polls have Casey leading.
· Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is being challenged by Kurt Bills, who is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. Klobuchar is strongly favored to win re-election.
· Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) is being challenged by attorney Wendy Long. Gillibrand is strongly favored to win this race.
There are two members of the committee, Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Ben Nelson (D-NE), who are not running for re-election. Also, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), former chairman of the committee, was defeated in the Republican primary by Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who is running against Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-IN). The Donnelly-Mourdock race is considered a toss-up.