Democrats in New York only need to win two more seats to gain control of the state senate for the first time in almost 70 years. This week, Newsday takes a look at the election:

Voter turnout is expected to be high and to favor Democrats because of their party's historic presidential candidate Barack Obama, together with angst about the economy and anger at President George W. Bush over the war in Iraq.

However, Republican senators still enjoy a fundraising advantage and GOP presidential candidate John McCain is predicted to do well in rural areas such as the north country, where his party hopes to win back a seat lost in February to Darrel Aubertine of Watertown.

Things are so bad that the new GOP leader, Sen. Dean Skelos, has taken to arguing voters will side with his party to keep balance in government:

"If the Senate were to flip, you would have every branch of government controlled by the Democrats, which I think is dangerous in terms of checks and balances. I believe people want balance and we, the Republican majority in the Senate, provide that."

In my experience, that's a losing argument. Polling seems to back me up:

Fifty-two percent of the voters surveyed by Quinnipiac University from July 31 to Aug. 4 backed a Democratic takeover of the Senate. Only 32 percent supported the status quo.

Perhaps it's worth noting at this point that Skelos got the job because his predecessor -- Sen. Joseph Bruno -- resigned mid-session. I'm not alone in believing that Bruno retired because he had no interest serving in the minority.