Democrats only had to defend one open seat, in Iowa, where Democratic Secretary of State Chet Culver beat Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Nussle.

CNN: Majority of states have Democratic governor

Conversations with advisers to several potential candidates suggest that the first reason for the slow ramp-up is a basic one: The coming campaign isn't for an open seat in the White House, but rather will be a race against an incumbent president.

WSJ: Why Is the 2012 Race Off to Such a Slow Start?

In one of the open races, Democrat Mike McMahon won the last GOP-held seat in New York City, defeating the GOP's Robert Straniere.

CNN: Democrats widen House majority, CNN projects

Democrats knocked off one GOP House incumbent, held onto one of their open seats, and almost snatched a strongly GOP-leaning open congressional seat.

CNN: Whitman A Favorite In New Jersey

For the first time in the memory of most people in the enterprise computing and software business, Oracle Open World took a back seat to a whole new industry event, this one dedicated to the Cloud and to Big Data.

FORBES: Tipping Point Alert