The 2010 election cycle presents a series of navigational hazards for incumbents and challengers of all political stripes.

Laying aside the results of the New Jersey and Virginia Governor's races in 2009, not to mention the recent Senatorial race in Massachusetts; 2010 is shaping up to be fraught with peril for candidates of all persuasions. A cursory glance at the current political landscape shows just how hazardous 2010 may be:

In Illinois, candidate Alexi Giannoulias, who, Tuesday night, easily won the democratic nomination for the race for the Senate Seat vacated by President Barack Obama, has suffered almost daily releases of bad information regarding the family banking business.

This has led five-term U.S. Representative Mark Kirk (Rep, IL.), and Republican primary winner, to believe he has a real opportunity to capture this race á la Scott Brown of recent Massachusetts fame. Toss in the recent retirements of Vic Snyder and Marion Berry, both long-serving Congressional Arkansas Democrats; plus the uphill battles faced by long serving Senators such as Blanche Lincoln (Dem, AR.) Dianne Feinstine (Dem CA) and Harry Reid (Dem NV.) and you have the makings of a real ‘Alka-Seltzer' moment in Washington.

Add to this the following developments:

On January 15th in the City of Montpelier, Vermont; nine Secessionist candidates declared they; "…wanted a divorce from the United States of America." The gubernatorial candidate is Dennis Steele, age 42. Steele says that, if elected, his first act in office would be to bring home Vermont's National Guard from overseas deployments. "I see my kids going off to fight in wars for empire 10, 15, 20 years from now," said Steele, who served three years in the U.S. Army. Steele was also quoted as saying; "People in Vermont in general are very antiwar, and all their faith was in Obama to end the wars. I ask people, 'Did you get the change you wanted?' Say what you like regarding the idea of secession, but polling suggests these candidates already have 13 percent support among the Vermont electorate with nine months until Election Day.

Another movement gaining momentum across the country is the State Sovereignty Movement. Accessing this web site yields a list of 17 states that have already adopted legislation aimed at re-asserting their rights under the Tenth Amendment. Those states are; Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania,

Another 29 state legislatures are currently considering such legislation; Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

It's enough to make one wonder what's in the water in Idaho, Maryland, Iowa, and Tennessee? C'mon guys, get with the program already!

It seems the states are also gearing up to defend themselves against the possibility of a federal takeover of the nations' health care system. An article entitled ‘Federal health care foes plot for state opt-outs' posted at The Washington Times  on January 19th, 2010 says; "Lawmakers in 30 states are pressing for constitutional amendments to exempt individuals from the requirement to purchase health care, a pivotal piece of the legislation under debate in both Houses of Congress."

Taking all these above mentioned facts into consideration, not to mention a vocal ‘fiscal discipline' movement, and about the only comment you can make with any confidence regarding the 2010 election cycle is that it has plenty of potential pitfalls in store for both incumbents and challengers; of all ideological denominations.