Assume, for a moment that neither one swtiches parties or retires between now and 2006. (I'm hopeful for Chafee, but ride along with me.) And assume that both survive primary chalenges, if they appear, from conservative Republicans.
Should they then become top-tier targets? Both would be hard to defeat. Snowe is beloved in Maine, and while Chafee doesn't command that sort of love and respect, his liberalism nets him considerable bipartisan support.
On the one hand, those two New England seats deserve to be Democratic, and the GOP is sweeping our Southern Democrats are out. On the other, we're going to have a full plate in 2006, and other seats (Frist, Santorum, some of our more vulnerable Dems) are going to command more attention. How hard should we fight for these seats?