In Dan's last post on competitive house races, Ron1 pointed out TX-7 as a race to watch.  Skelly has a 2-to-1 advantage in cash on hand to Culberson.  I don't know if Culberson has pissed a lot of people off or what.  I still don't expect the inner portions of that district, which include the villages, to go Democrat.  But if the areas past Gessner and Beltway 8 through Jersey Village trend Democrat that would be something.  That might then hold hope for Ron1's other district to watch TX-10.  If the burbs in Houston are converting, then TX-10 is likely to go blue too.  

I don't know much about Culberson so maybe it is a personality issue that will cost him this election.  Houston overall is doing well.  Job growth is great, their economy is great, and they have been pretty much unaffected by the housing collapse.  If all politics is local, then Republicans shouldn't have to worry about their Houston districts.  I guess the other question about this is whether it has up ballot implications.  

to see great candidates in Texas and Virginia at the top of this list.

The main reason I tagged TX-7 (and similarly TX-10) as a race to watch was the combo of location in Texas, Skelly's ability to self-fund, Skelly's overall likability, and Culberson's general lunacy. I would tag TX-7 as the prototypical old school Republican district -- this is a moderate district socially that votes for the 'pro-business' candidate. Skelly is an energy entrepreneur that will be well-liked by the business community. Furthermore, Culberson is really just an extremist loon increasingly out of touch with his district (Hi, Virgil!).

West U, River Oaks, Bellaire -- still a lot of old Houston money in them thar parts, and those will indeed be tough. But the rest of the inside-the-loop demos are shifting rapidly in Houston to be much more like other big city areas. I think he'll do very well outside of the very richest areas, and I absolutely agree with you on the outer 'burbs. Even though Houston has been relatively unscathed in both the job and housing market, even down there people in the 'burbs are feeling the pinch.

This is still uphill. But Skelly really is an appealing guy, and Houston, like Dallas, is changing rapidly politically. Furthermore, Texas Dems are getting their act back together after a decade in the wilderness (a la Virginia, but they are a few cycles behind us).

Would I predict Skelly (and Doherty in TX-10) to win? Not yet. But if I were in Texas, I'd sure as heck be working to help those two instead of worrying about a sellout like Nick Lampson (apologies, teacherken).

Aside from the bottom two or three, the rest of this list is comprised almost entirely of smart progressives running in uphill districts. If I could wave a wand, Judy, Tom, Vic Wulsin, Dennis Shulman, and Sam Bennett would be my top wishes for this cycle (along with Charlie Brown, Eric Massa, Darcy Burner, and a few others).

The top of the ticket will definitely bring a lot of energy to Democrats across the country, but the challenge will also be to make sure there is enough oxygen for the House challengers, especially on this list in these districts.

If we pick up some or most of the seats on this list, we're looking at probably a 30 or 40 seat pickup in the House and a landslide for the Presidency. Here's hoping.