Here's tonight's run-down on the Congressional races:

Coleman Suspends Negative Ads, Sort Of
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), who has fallen behind in the polls against Al Franken thanks to the economic crisis and voter backlash against the negative turn that the campaign has taken, has announced that he is pulling all of his negative ads, and will only run positive spots. There is a loophole here, though: The Coleman campaign can cancel its own negative advertising, but the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and outside groups will still be able to run as many attacks against Al Franken as they want.

Franken Camp: Our Ads Against Coleman's Record Are Staying
In a statement released to the media, Al Franken's campaign declared that they'll keep their attack ads against Norm Coleman running: "Given that this week's polls are clearly showing that Minnesotans are sick of Norm Coleman's campaign of character assassination, today's stunt rings as a cynical ploy designed to change the subject and avoid scrutiny of his own record. It's like an arsonist burning down every house in the village and then asking to be named fire chief."

GOP Senator Does Ad Using Footage Of Democratic Co-Senator
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) has come up with a response ad to Dem candidate Jeff Merkley's spot that featured the endorsement of Ron Wyden, the state's other Senator. Smith is running his own ad in which Wyden appears to be supporting Smith:

To put it mildly, this is a pretty risky gambit. Wyden can simply come back and do another ad for Merkley if he wants, specifically telling voters not to trust that other spot -- indeed, the exact same thing happened in the Montana Senate race in 2006, after GOP Sen. Conrad Burns did an ad that boasted of his cooperation with Dem Sen. Max Baucus. Democrat Jon Tester's campaign just had Baucus do an ad reminding voters who he actually supported, and Tester went on to narrowly win the election.

Another Poll Shows Dole Losing In North Carolina
A new poll from North Carolina-based Civitas (R) shows GOP Sen. Elizabeth Dole trailing Dem candidate Kay Hagan in a 45%-42% race, within the ±4.2% margin of error. Dole trails in almost all the recent polls, with the only bright spot being a recent SurveyUSA poll that gave her a bare lead of 44%-43%.

Poll: Georgia Senate Race A Tie
A new InsiderAdvantage poll shows Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) tied 45%-45% with Democratic challenger Jim Martin. Chambliss was viewed as absolutely safe until just the past couple weeks, when the economic crisis caused his lead over Martin to drop down to just a point or two in other recent polls.

Poll: House GOPer On Ahead For Re-Election
A new Research 2000 poll shows Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) leading his 2006 Dem opponent Darcy Burner by a 49%-41% margin. Reichert only narrowly fended off Burner last time around in this swing district, but at the current rate he could end up winning by a better margin.

Retiring GOP To Constituents: Stop E-Mailing For Help
Sen. Wayne Allard (R-CO), who is retiring after 12 years, has announced that his office will no longer respond to e-mails from constituents, though they will answer phone calls and snail-mail. Allard says constituents should instead ask for help form his successor, who won't be elected for a few more weeks -- though in practice they could still ask for help from the state's other Senator, Democrat Ken Salazar.

GOP Attacks Dem Candidates Performance As A Doctor
Check out this attack ad from the NRCC, running against Democratic candidate Parker Griffith in an open Dem-held House seat in Alabama. The ad goes after Griffith's work as a cancer doctor, publicizing accusations of improper care from the late 80s:

"His approach caused unwarranted pain and suffering," the announcer says grimly. "But it meant more money for him."