We’ve received so many grassroots nominations for Essential Races – thousands of them, in fact – that we couldn’t stop at just 10 grassroots nominees. The DLCC is pleased to present the top 15 races nominated:

California Assembly District 5 -- Dr. Richard Pan
Status: Republican Open Seat

Why this Race Matters: Dr. Pan is running against the author of the infamous Prop 8 ballot measure that took away the rights of hundreds of thousands of Californians to marry the person they love. A victory for Dr. Pan in this open-seat race would prove that even in a district with a slight Republican lean, Californians don’t want to be governed by the authors of a right-wing social agenda. It would also bring Democrats closer to the 2/3 majority needed to pass a budget.

Indiana House District 44 -- Nancy Michael
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: This campaign features a first-term lawmaker in a rural, conservative-leaning district, so HD-44 should be a highly-endangered district in a difficult climate like 2010. But the Democratic Representative’s high name-recognition and popularity from her years as a local mayor make this an excellent test of Democrats’ strategy of localizing and personalizing campaigns.

Iowa Senate District 45 -- Becky Schmitz
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: This race was one of the closest in the country in 2006, when Sen. Schmitz defeated a Republican incumbent by just 184 votes. Four years later (Iowa Senate elections are staggered), Schmitz is trying to hold on in what’s expected to be another close contest. Just how close? In a special election a little over a year ago, Democrats retained a state House district covering much of the same territory as SD-45, winning by only 127 votes.

Kansas House District 91 -- Dan Manning
Status: Republican Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: This campaign turned ugly for Democratic nominee Dan Manning a few weeks ago when he discovered a death threat laced with anti-gay slurs on his doorstep. Manning is a decorated West Point graduate who was discharged from the military because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. If Manning wins his race, factional divisions within the state Republican Party would give him considerably more influence in the Kansas House than the GOP’s wide chamber majority would suggest.

Michigan House District 101 -- Dan Scripps
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: To capture a state House majority, Republicans will have to defeat several first-term lawmakers like Rep. Scripps, who represents four northwestern counties along the shores of Lake Michigan. That makes HD-101 a key test of whether locally-popular Democratic lawmakers can survive without the tailwind that President Obama’s surging campaign provided here in 2008.

New Jersey Senate District 14 -- Linda Greenstein
Status: Republican Incumbent (appointee)

Why this Race Matters: The New Jersey Senate is not up for election until 2011, so this is not a top battleground chamber this year. But out of four special legislative elections concurrent with the 2010 cycle, the Senate seat in central New Jersey’s LD-14 is the only district currently held by a Republican. It’s also the only district considered to be competitive, which makes current Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein’s well-financed challenge the Democrats’ one and only chance to stretch their 23-17 lead in the Senate ahead of 2011, which will be the first election cycle in the newly redrawn legislative districts.

New York Senate District 38 -- David Carlucci
Status: Republican Open Seat

Why this Race Matters: This district received the third-most Essential Races nominations of any in the country. Many analysts predicted that the campaign to replace the late Sen. Thomas Morahan would provide Senate Democrats their best pickup opportunity in the state. The moderate-to-liberal Morahan had locked down this suburban district for five and a half terms, even as it trended strongly Democratic during the past decade. If Senate Democrats successfully take advantage of this open seat contest, they will be in a strong position to retain their majority.

North Carolina House District 41 -- Chris Heagarty
Status: Democratic Incumbent (appointee)

Why this Race Matters: This was the most-nominated Essential Race in North Carolina and one of the most popular nominations in the country. Located at the heart of a critical swing region known as the “Research Triangle,” HD-41 has a history of close general elections, and the progressive-leaning Heagarty is facing his first election after he was appointed to fill a vacancy here. As a sign of the closeness of this race, a GOP-funded group recently sent mailers that falsely attacked Heagarty based on legislative votes that took place before Heagarty was even appointed.

North Carolina House District 81 -- Hugh Holliman
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: Majority Leader Holliman is facing a rematch against his 2008 opponent, whom he defeated by a relatively close 5% margin. Leader Holliman has won tough races before in his Lexington-based district in overwhelmingly Republican Davidson County, even when the national political climate favored Republicans. If he can hold on again this year, it would signal that North Carolina Democrats will persevere this cycle.

Ohio House District 28 -- Connie Pillich
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: In 2006, Rep. Pillich nearly defeated a Republican incumbent in this suburban swing district, and she came back in 2008 to win it as an open seat by nearly 10%. This district received the second-most “Essential Races” nominations of any campaign in the country, underscoring just how decisive it could be for control of the state House in this critical redistricting battleground.

Oregon House District 54 -- Judy Stiegler
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: The race in HD-54 received more nominations than any other Oregon district, and it was one of the most-nominated campaigns in the country. Based in Bend, Oregon, Rep. Stiegler defeated a Republican incumbent here in 2008, a victory that helped expand House Democrats’ narrow 31-29 advantage into a 36-24 majority. Republicans are hoping the receding Democratic tide hands the majority back to them in time for redistricting, but that probably won’t happen if Democrats can win in districts like this one.

Pennsylvania House District 31 -- Steve Santarsiero
Status: Democratic Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: This Bucks County district outside of Philadelphia was the most-nominated Essential Race in the entire country, and it’s easy to see why. The district is evenly divided politically, and a district this close with a first-term Democratic representative is a must-win for the Republicans. Conversely, a Democratic victory here would indicate positive outcomes for House Democrats statewide.

Pennsylvania House District 163 -- Shannon Meehan
Status: Republican Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: This is another district that’s shifted away from the Republicans in recent years. John Kerry won here by 15 points, and Barack Obama won here by 20. The GOP incumbent has slowly seen his vote margins erode since his first election in 1978, and retired Army Captain Shannon Meehan, who was severely wounded in Iraq, is his strongest Democratic challenger in recent memory. Winning this district would provide valuable breathing room for the narrow Democratic majority in this crucial redistricting state.

South Carolina House District 45 – Mary Bernsdorff
Status: Republican Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: Nearly every grassroots nomination for this district (and there were scores of them) expressed disgust at South Carolina Republicans’ stubborn insistence on cutting public education; noted the Democratic nominee’s history as an award-winning local school principal; or mentioned both. And while Bernsdorff would likely join a Democratic caucus deep in the minority if she wins, factional divisions within the GOP and the possibility of working with a Democratic governor would make this an important pickup for Democrats.

Texas House District 138 -- Kendra Yarbrough Camerena
Status: Republican Incumbent

Why this Race Matters: GOP incumbent Dwayne Bohac is at the center of a voter disenfranchisement scandal in Democratic-trending Harris County (Houston), in which nearly 70,000 voter registration applications may have been improperly rejected. Defeating Bohac would bring Democrats close to their goal of a majority in the Texas House, which would prevent Republicans from expanding on Tom DeLay’s infamous mid-decade gerrymander of 2003.

For the complete list of all 55 Essential Races, please visit www.dlcc.org/2010RacesAll.