A pair of polls has produced different results about the prospect of Caroline Kennedy as a choice to take the seat that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will be vacating.

When asked who Gov. David Paterson should choose, 26 percent named named Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, himself the scion of one of the state's best known political families, and 23 percent said Kennedy, according to a Siena College poll conducted dec. 8-11. When it came to just Democrats, Cuomo was favored by 30 percent to 28 percent. The other candidates mentioned all registered in the single digits. The poll said Cuomo led in every region of the state, which is well known for its upstate-downstate differences, Kennedy led among black and Latino voters and they tied among younger voters. Their favorable to unfavorable ratios are similar: Kennedy's at 58 percent to 21 percent, and Cuomo's at 59 percent to 24 percent.

A Public Policy Polling survey conducted Dec. 8-9 had Kennedy as the top choice of Democrats by 44 percent to 23 percent. The poll found her margin to be narrower upstate where she leads 36 percent to 22 percent. She leads 45 percent to 25 percent in New York City and has her strongest support in the suburbs where her margin is 57 percent to 24 percent.

Here are today's updated polls of Senate races:

• Alaska: Begich 48, Stevens 46. (Research 2000)
• Colorado: Udall 51, Schaffer 44. (Rasmussen)
• Georgia: Chambliss 47, Martin 45, Buckley 5 (Research 2000)
• Mississippi: Wicker 47, Musgrove 46. (Research 2000)
• Oregon: Merkley 47, Smith 41. (Research 2000)
• Texas: Cornyn 50, Noriega 44. (Research 2000)
• Wyoming: Barrasso 57, Carter 36. (Research 2000)

To keep up with our race ratings, you can also go to our Senate Races to Watch page.

Today we update North Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia and Nevada in our round-up of state-by-state general election match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain.

Visit our Presidential election maps which give you four different ways to look at the race, including one that lets you build your own electoral scenario.

Here's a summary of our race ratings categories. Use this link for background on how we arrive at them

• No Clear Favorite, for races that are deemed to close to call.
• Leans Democratic and Leans Republican, for highly competitive races in which the named party is perceived to have at least a slight edge, but in which an upset is a highly plausible possibility.
• Democrat Favored and Republican Favored, for races in which the named party has a clearer advantage and is likely to win, though an upset cannot be completely ruled out.
• Safe Democratic and Safe Republican, for races in which the named party is viewed as certain to win.

Our latest round-up of match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain updates Ohio, which remains highly competitive, and New York, where there is something of a surprise. Also, check out CQ Politics' election forecasts for detailed stories on races in each state from the tops of the tickets down. Also go to our Presidential Election Maps to see our calls and use our Scenario Builder to make your own.

• Ohio: A Suffolk University poll conducted Sept. 10-13 has McCain leading Obama 46 percent to 42 percent with minor party candidates drawing 1 percent and 7 percent undecided. The margin of error is 4 percent. Voters say they trust McCain over Obama by 49 percent to 41 percent and, asked which of the four candidates on the presidential tickets are "most like you," Sarah Palin wins with 31 percent compared to 22 percent for Obama, 21 percent for McCain and 13 percent for Biden. "McCain is benefiting from Palin identification and empathy as well as a greater sense of Buckeye voter trust," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "However, should the trust firewall in Ohio break down, it could signal the beginning of an electoral blue domino effect there." An Ohio Poll by the University of Cincinnati, conducted Sept. 5-10, has McCain ahead of Obama by 48 percent to 44 percent among likely voters with 5 percent preferring some other candidate and 4 percent undecided. The margin of error is 3.5 percent. Poll co-director Eric Rademacher says the race in Ohio "has a long way to go" because as many as 23 percent of voters may still be up for grabs and more Democrats than Republicans say, at the moment, they will cross party lines to vote for the other candidate. An InsiderAdvantage poll conducted Sept. 10 has McCain statistically tied with Obama at 48 percent to 47 percent with 2 percent choosing "other" and 3 percent undecided in The margin of error is 4.3 percent. That contrasts to a Fox News/Rasmussen Reports survey conducted Sept. 7 putting McCain ahead 51 percent to 44 percent with 1 percent for Ralph Nader and 3 percent. The margin of error was 4 percent. Voters trusted McCain more by 54 percent to 41 percent. Forty-two percent "are not at all comfortable" with Obama as President compared to 25 percent saying that of McCain. Republicans have won Ohio in three of the last five elections, but the margin of victory in 2000 and 2004 was 2.5 percent or less. CQ Politics' Election Forecast for Ohio is "No Clear Favorite."

Today we update Illinois and New York in our round-up of state match-ups between Barack Obama and John McCain. Also, check out CQ Politics' election forecasts for detailed stories on races in each state from the tops of the tickets down.

• Illinois: Obama leads McCain in his home state 53 percent to 38 percent with 3 percent choosing "other" and 5 percent undecided in a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Aug. 12. The margin of error is 4.5 percent. Obama's favorable-to unfavorable ratio is 64 percent to 35 percent while McCain's is 52 percent to 44 percent. Democrats have carried the state in the last four elections. Illinois went Republican in the six before those. The CQ Politics' Election Forecast for Illinois is "Safe Democratic."