The latest Real Clear Politics analysis of the toss-up House and Senate races yields some interesting facts.

• 8 toss-up Senate races; 6 currently Democrat, 2 Republican
• 35 toss-up House races; 34 currently Democrat, 1 Republican

A further look at these races shows a disproportionate of House and Senate toss-ups are in traditionally Democrat states, but more notably, they are states with high union membership according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Six of the 8 toss-up Senate races are in states where union membership as a percent of total worker is higher than the national average of 13%:

• California – 18.3%
• Illinois – 18.3%
• Nevada – 17.2%
• Ohio – 15.4%
• Washington – 21.5%
• Wisconsin – 15.8%

 In the House toss-up races, 22 of the 35 seats are likewise in highly unionized states.

• California (1 seat) – 18.3%
• Illinois (2 seats) – 18.3%
• Massachusetts (1 seat) – 18%
• Michigan (7 seats) – 19.9%
• New York (3 seats) – 27.2%
• Ohio (2 seats) – 15.4%
• Oregon (1 seat) – 18.5%
• Pennsylvania (3 seats) – 16.2%
• West Virginia (1 seat) – 15.4%
• Wisconsin (1 seat) – 15.8%

And, just what is the relevance of all these numbers?  Is there a potential relationship between organized labor’s strength in a given state and the outcome of a closely contested race? 

Well, duh, yes!

Many of these states have entrenched Democrat machines (read: Illinois and New York as examples.)  Combine that with a strong union presence and stir in an abundance of social justice organizations and you get an environment ripe for corruption…both at the polls and in the vote counting.

Perhaps conservatives will sweep to a major victory in November, and if the left cooks the books in a few elections, what should it matter?

It matter a lot.  Progressive thugs have a track record of corruption; why would they not try it again.  And, even if conservatives win big, it is unconscionable for one single voter to be disenfranchised.  Equally unacceptable are votes from the deceased, multiple votes and other antics that have been employed historically.

The conservative and Republican establishments must be more vigilant even if it anticipates a major victory…for two reasons.

First, complacency is a sure path to defeat.

Second, and more importantly, trust in the elective process must be reestablished.  With all the other troubles we are facing, a restoral of confidence in the integrity of our political process is absolutely necessary.