Roll Call offers Could Senate Dust Off 50-50 Deal? ($), which begins: “As the political landscape continues to improve for Senate Democrats, it appears increasingly likely that the chamber could return to a 50-50 split in January — an extraordinary scenario neither party seems anxious to relive. But with seven GOP-held Senate seats very much in play, Republicans and Democrats alike privately acknowledge they are facing at least the prospect of an equal party balance in the 110th Congress. Such a scenario leaves more questions than answers, but both parties agree it likely would force them to revisit a delicate power-sharing agreement struck by Senate leaders in early 2001.”
One issue the article does not mention is the role of Sen. Lieberman. Assuming he is reelected, is there a chance he would jump ship to the Republican Party? (This would be the mirror image of when then-Rep. Sen. Jim Jeffords agreed to caucus with the Democrats, ending the last 50-50 deal.) There is already a dispute about whether Democrats would grant Lieberman committee seniority.