CQ: Burr race a toss-up

CQ already says the 2010 Senate race is a toss-up.

The Washington-based political research and news company has ranked Sen. Richard Burr's re-election campaign "no clear favorite" — even though Burr does not yet have a Democratic opponent.

In a sidebar, the editors write that state Republicans looked like they were on a roll when Burr was elected in 2004, but he's now running "in an altered North Carolina political landscape" with a low profile.

"Burr's biggest political problem is not that he is unpopular, but that he has maintained such a low public profile that roughly a third of North Carolina respondents tell pollsters they don't know enough about him to state an opinion," they write.

Like everyone else, they write that Attorney General Roy Cooper is expected to run, but, citing Sen. Kay Hagan's successful run last year, they argue that less-well-known Democrats may be spurred to run. 

CQ also rated Senate races in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Florida as toss-ups. 

Hat Tip: Tom Jensen