From today’s analysis of the presidential race at electoral-vote.com, in a discussion about the eventual winner picking a Senator of the other party for the Cabinet in order to put their seat back in play:
One factor that both candidates will no doubt consider when looking for cabinet members is the possibility of flipping a Senate seat. This will will especially crucial if the Democrats end up with 58 or 59 Senate seats. For Obama, there are three potential choices that will give the Democrats an extra Senate seat: Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH). All three states have Democratic governors (technically, Gov. John Lynch (D-NH) is up for reelection, but his victory is about as certain as anything in politics can be). In addition, three Republican senators from states with Democratic governors are up for reelection: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. John Sununu (R-NH). Any of these who win are also candidates for the cabinet since their governors are Democrats. For Obama, picking one of them would be a twofer: showing his willingness to work with Republicans while flipping a Senate seat. Needless to say, he would emphasize the first point while really being entirely focused on the second one. Snowe and Specter are long-time respected senators and there would be little carping about their appointment to the cabinet. If Obama were to choose Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), there would be a special election immediately to fill the vacancy.