From Governing.com:

It’s no surprise that the 2010 election cycle is looking ominous for Democrats. The party is in danger of losing the U.S. House and Senate. It’s poised to fall below a majority of the governorships, and is about to lose a slew of state legislative chambers.

So what about state attorney general races? Pretty much the same story. A 32-to-18 Democratic edge over the Republicans is distinctly at risk.

According to interviews with dozens of partisan and nonpartisan sources in the 30 states with attorney general elections this fall, the Democrats are poised to lose between six and 12 AG posts. If they suffer a net loss of just six seats, the Democrats would hold on to their now-solid majority, though by just a single seat. But if the Democrats were to lose a net 12 seats, they’d see the GOP take the lead by the same 3-to-2 margin they currently enjoy.

This is the third cycle in which I’ve handicapped and analyzed the attorney general races; it marks the first time the project has run in Governing. The previous projects were published in Roll Call in 2006, and Stateline.org in 2008.

Typically, the AG races are analyzed once in the summer and once in the fall, with late-breaking updates added through Election Day.

In all, 43 AG offices are popularly elected. The remaining seven are appointed by a governor, the Legislature or the state Supreme Court.

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