From IBJ.com:

“We’re not counting seats at this point,” said Sen. Bev Gard, R-Greenfield, chairwoman of the Senate Majority Campaign Committee. “We have a strong majority and we think we’ll continue to have a strong majority. Our first priority is what you would expect, and it’s to re-elect our incumbents.”

Half of the Senate will be elected next month, but only three races feature no incumbent. Each party is confident it will keep the newly open seats from which its party mate is retiring. Two retirees are Democratic, one Republican.

Though incumbents generally have a huge advantage in an election, Republicans identify four Democrats they think are vulnerable. Democrats see vulnerability in three Republican incumbents, including Sen. Jim Merritt, who has represented Indianapolis’s northeast side for 20 years. He is challenged by term-limited Marion County Sheriff Frank Anderson, a Democrat.

Gard said the Merritt-Anderson race may be the most expensive state Senate contest ever. Simpson said Merritt will have $500,000 to spend, while Anderson will have about half that.

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