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WORCESTER - If a Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat were to open up, Worcester County Sherriff Guy Glodis said Thursday that he would expect, and look forward to, a crowded and spirited Democratic field running for the seat.

Glodis, who is said to have one of the largest political machines in the state, told PolitickerMA.com at the Democratic State Committee meeting Thursday that it is "very premature" to speculate about who would run. But in the event the U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston) were to be tapped for a post in the Obama, Glodis said there are some pols that would already be serious contenders.

"I think you have [Attorney General] Martha Coakley, who would be a very strong candidate," Glodis said. "[Congressman] Steve Lynch has represented labor and has a great base in Suffolk. And some people say [Congressman Michael] Capuano and [Congressman Bill] Delahunt. I think all four of them would automatically be considered frontrunners."

Buried in this Cape Cod Times political round-up on Monday is an interesting tidbit from U.S. Sen. John Kerry's recent race against Harwich Republican Jeff Beatty.

The Times reports that Kerry bet Congressman Bill Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat, that he would defeat Beatty by a larger margin than the 33.8 percent Delahunt beat Beatty by in 2006 for his congressional seat.

Based on unofficial results, it appears Kerry won the bet; he beat Beatty by 34.8 percent.

The Times said Kerry and Delahunt did not disclose what they wagered.

America has chosen its next president. The House and Senate are set (mostly). So now it's time for the Politicker team to get some rest.

Check back here on Monday for all the latest and greatest political news. For now, enjoy our coverage of Election 2008 from the earliest announcements, through the conventions, to the big day.

Congressman Jim McGovern said Wednesday that the Democrats should be ready and willing to use their now considerable majorities in both chambers of Congress to pass significant legislation, the Associated Press reports.

The remarks came two days after Democrats expanded their majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate, and a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that "the country must be governed from the middle."

McGovern told the AP he is not concerned with the House moving left, but that he is worried about Democrats not using the mandate he believes the election provided.

"I'm not worried about overreaching," McGovern said. "I'm worried about being too timid and too cautious, and not stepping up to the plate and doing what we promised we would do."

After cruising to re-election Tuesday night, Congressman John Olver said he is looking forward to tackling the challenges facing the country with President-elect Barack Obama.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, the Boston Globe has projected that Olver, an Amherst Democrat, has defeated West Springfield Republican Nathan Bech. Olver earned 73 percent of the vote.

Olver, who was first elected in 1991, said in a statement that he is "honored" to have been elected to Congress again and that he is looking forward to what the next Congress, with an expanded Democratic majority, will be able to accomplish.

"I am also very excited about the prospects for the 111th Congress," Olver said. "We have an historic opportunity to take the country in a new direction."

The Pindell Report, Politicker.com's political and campaign forecast, has released its final projections for Election Day. Using polling, historical and demographic trends, tracking campaign visits and spending, The Pindell Report ranks races in terms of their competitiveness and their status as either a toss-up or leaning or likely voting in a particular way.

In Massachusetts, The Pindell Report's final break down is as follows:

CAMBRIDGE -- When asked what he thinks of Republican presidential nominee John McCain and other Republicans blaming Barney Frank for the country's current economic problems, Congressman Michael Capuano could only laugh.

"I absolutely think it's hilarious that it's apparently his personal fault that the entire world economy is in the toilet," Capuano, a Somerville Democrat, told PolitickerMA.com. "I wish that Barney was that powerful and that influential because the world would be better off if he were."

In the final weeks of campaign, McCain and other Republicans have often blamed Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services, for the failures Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the embattled mortgage lenders. McCain has also attempted to use Frank to warn voters of the dangers of one-party rule in Washington if Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is elected.

Congressman Richard Neal said Sunday night that he isn't interested in pursuing the United States Senate, that he isn't sure if John Kerry would join an Obama administration and that he is focused on a couple state House races in his 2nd Congressional District.

In a brief but wide-ranging phone interview with PolitickerMA.com Sunday, Neal, a Springfield Democrat, said the speculation surrounding whether Kerry would be tapped for a cabinet spot in an Obama administration is "a bit premature."

"But at the same time," Neal added, "I think that the rumor seems to be growing stronger might lend some credibility to it. I don't know for sure...Who knows, much of it is speculative."

While his Republican challenger, Jeff Beatty, went to three sign standouts Sunday, U.S. Sen. John Kerry was in Washington D.C. Sunday morning to appear on NBC's Meet the Press. According to his campaign, Kerry returned to Massachusetts immediately afterward and attended a get out the vote rally in Shrewsbury with Congressmen Richard Neal (D-Springfield) and Jim McGovern (D-Worcester). State Senate candidate Michael Moore, a Millbury Democrat who is running for state Sen. Edward Augustus' 2nd Worcester seat, was also at the event.

On Monday, Kerry is slated to attend an evening event in Barnstable.

With the election just three days away, here is a breakdown of the races PolitickerMA.com is watching.

U.S. Senate: Republican challenger Jeff Beatty has been relentless in his attacks on U.S. Sen. John Kerry for, among other things, his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Kerry, a Boston Democrat, has repeatedly parried those charges by pointing to the due diligence he did leading up to the vote, including a conversation with then Secretary of State Colin Powell, which he says was influential in his decision to vote for the resolution. Beatty has also been critical of Kerry's vote for the Wall Street bailout and has raised questions about Kerry's ties to insurance lender AIG. Kerry has been quick to rebut Beatty's charges though, and Beatty has yet to make a dent in Kerry's substantial lead (30+ points) in the polls. So much so, that Kerry is campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in New Hampshire on Saturday and is appearing as a surrogate for Obama on Meet the Press this Sunday. Can Beatty earn more than the 31 percent Kerry's primary challenger, Ed O'Reilly, received? Is that 31 percent the anti-Kerry base?

Question 1: This ballot question, which once looked like it would be an exciting one to watch, could end up being a dud on Election Day. The Coalition for our Communities, the organization opposing the measure that would abolish the state income tax, has spent significantly more money (TV ads, radio ads, etc.) to defeat the measure than the Committee for Small Government, the organization behind the question, has spent on trying to get it passed. The most recent 7News/Suffolk University poll showed undecideds breaking against the measure, with 59 percent of respondents saying they oppose it, 26 percent saying they support it and 14 percent saying they are undecided. The supporters of the measure hope to capitalize on Bay State voters' discontent with Beacon Hill, which raises the question of how recent events could influence the vote. Will Gov. Deval Patrick's recent budget cuts help or hurt this question's chances? Could state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's arrest on corruption charges sour voters opinion of Beacon Hill to the point where they no longer trust the state government with their tax dollars?