Elizabeth Warren: Consumer Advocate

Democrats have an uphill battle to maintain control of the Senate in 2012, when they will be defending two-thirds of the seats up for re-election. Only 10 Republican seats are up, a result of Democratic pickups in 2000 and 2006. One notable pickup opportunity is in Massachusetts, where Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) faces a tough challenge from Harvard professor and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren. She has served as chairperson of the Congressional Oversight Panel which looked into the distribution of money from the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), and then served as an advisor to President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner in setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.