The November general elections will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, the Republicans or Democrats.

Georgia and Alabama have a significant part to play. However we won’t know whom the protagonists will be until both states hold their primaries. Looking at the early primaries across the nation, so far there have been no surprises except, perhaps, the prediction that Democrats would fail to nominate incumbents due to a backlash against Obama; so far it hasn’t happened. With one exception, no incumbent of either party has failed to win. But there have been several interesting primaries.

In California, Republicans predicted Sen. Barbara Boxer, a strong Obama supporter, would fail to be nominated. She won, but she will face a powerful Republican opponent. Carly Fiorina, the millionaire former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, won the Republican Senate nomination. Fiorina invested $5.5 million of her own savings to win the contested three-way race and signaled that she is willing to spend more to defeat Boxer.

Can personal fortune buy election? Why not, it’s happened here. His critics claim that’s how Sonny Perdue achieved office.

Perhaps the most closely watched senatorial primary was in Nevada. Harry Reid is one of the most powerful men in Congress; he is the Senate majority leader and has pushed Obama legislation through that august body. Republicans were certain the Obama backlash would block his nomination. Reid won a tight race, but it was said that he was unlikely to beat the Republican nominee in the fall.

Then GOP voters threw him a lifeline. Probably every Democratic candidate prays nightly the Republicans will nominate a Tea Party candidate, and in Nevada that’s just what happened. Reid will face Sharon Angle, who vows to keep Social Security benefits for those now receiving them, but would phase it out for younger workers. Angle would also vote to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency, remove all regulation of Wall Street, shut down the federal Department of Education because she believes it is unconstitutional and, if it was proposed, Angle would vote to revive Prohibition. Tea Party members and its sympathizers are pulling out all stops to support her. Her landslide primary victory suggests she could defeat Harry Reid.

Another test of Tea Party strength comes in Kentucky, where Democrat Jack Conway faces Republican nominee Rand Paul. Paul won in what Twitter quickly dubbed the “Randslide.” He has vowed that he will not abandon his Tea Party platform in the general election. Paul would abolish the Federal Reserve and any controls on Wall Street or business. When Obama blamed BP negligence for the oil spill, Paul declared the president was un-American in his criticism of business. As with Angle, out would go the Environmental Protection Agency and several other departments he says hold back the nation’s economy.

These two races are ones to watch closely in November; if the two Tea Party candidates win it will become a major force in the Republican Party. It may even encourage Sarah Palin to seek the Republican presidential nomination two years from now.

There is a bitter contest for the Illinois Senate seat which Barack Obama once held. The incumbent was appointed to serve out the remainder of Obama’s term and is not running. Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Steven won their primaries. This state is heavily Democratic, but a win by the party is far from certain.

Kirk is a popular five-term congressman and is a moderate on social issues; the Tea Party definitely would never endorse him. Giannoulias, despite his friendship with the president, apparently was considered a weak candidate and the White House was accused of making inappropriate promises in a failed attempt to convince Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to run. This seat is definitely up for grabs. It looks to me the GOP has the edge.

The exception to wins by incumbents was the surprising defeat of Allan Specter in Pennsylvania; he had sat in the Senate for 30 years. Given his demonstrated lack of principals, perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Specter was a Republican who in 1965 switched to the Democratic Party to seek election to state attorney general. In 1980, when Ronald Reagan was about to be swept to the presidency, Specter switched back to the Republican Party and won his Senate seat on Reagan’s coattails; he eventually became chairman of several powerful committees. After the election of President Obama he switched parties a third time, declaring himself a Democrat, which allowed him to retain his committee chairmanships. In May, now a Democrat, he sought nomination to retain his Senate seat, which it was certain he would do. The shock came when Democratic voters decided three party switches were too many and that Specter was less trustworthy than a used car salesman. They selected U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak’s to oppose Republican Pat Tome in November.

The most bizarre primary was next door in South Carolina. As expected the Republican incumbent, Jim DeMint won renomination and is a sure winner in November. But to say that Democrats are stunned is putting it mildly. Vic Rawl, the expected winner of Democratic primary, was beaten by Alvin Green, an unknown who spent no money advertising, not so much as a sign on his own lawn, took 60 percent of the vote. As party leaders reeled and Rawl demanded the Democratic primary be rerun, it has been revealed that Green was kicked out of the Army and is facing a felony indictment.

Electing a candidate accused of committing a felony would not be unique in a Democratic primary. When I was a young man, in a Boston general election they once voted into office political legend James Micheal Curley, a mayor who was serving time in a federal penitentiary. After his election, Ronald Reagan, making the customary visit to House and Senate leaders, when alone with the Democratic leader Tip O’Neill, the first thing he asked was, “Tell me about Curley.”

The other early primaries were not as significant nor interesting as these six and far from as interesting. Here in Georgia, July 25 will be an exciting day. Be sure to make your opinion count - get out and vote.