No butter for me. Personally, I like my hot baked potato covered with sour cream and chives. Nowadays, I may have to add a side of presidential politics too!

In yesterday's local NBC morning newscast, Bob Pisani, Wall Street correspondent for CNBC, called foreclosures the “hot potato of the political season.” No sugar coating it. RealtyTrac’s latest numbers released this morning show that the top five states with the highest number of foreclosure filings in July accounted for 55 percent of all foreclosure filings in the country. (see related blog post below).

As Pisani was quick to point out, they also happen to be five of the states with the most electoral votes up for grabs. The five: California, Florida (the hanging chad capital of the western world), Michigan, Ohio and Georgia.

Just an FYI: in the upcoming 2008 presidential election, California will have 55 electoral votes, Florida 27, Michigan 17, Ohio 20 and Georgia 15. That’s 134 electoral votes out of a total 538 with 270 votes needed to elect a president. In other words, the five states with the most foreclosures in the country represent 25 percent of the available electoral votes, or roughly 50 percent of the votes it will take to elect our next president!

Already the candidates have entered the fray, taking turns passing the issue around like the hot spud it has become, mashing up the good intentions of investors on Wall Street and the world’s financial markets in its wake in recent weeks.

For their part, the Democrats are starting early, passing it around last week with Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Dodd proposing varying solutions while laying blame for the current mess up of the national economy on the front doorstep of the nation’s mortgage brokers. Even Bush put in his two cents worth, taking a more or less hands-off approach to the whole mess.

Edwards had to deflect some controversy last week as it was revealed that the former North Carolina senator reportedly has invested $16 million in a hedge fund involving subprime lenders that are presently foreclosing on homeowners in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. However, the CNNMoney.com report does go on to say that Edwards has been an outspoken critic of subprime lenders and vows to help those victims.

Imagine. This is really just the gearing up for the real race which will most likely get intense in earnest after the first of the year. Investors, real estate professionals and potential home buyers looking to pick up a property at bargain prices should stay keenly focused on this election.

It looks like foreclosures are going to be a real HOT button of the political season and RealtyTrac will be following it closely to help you sift through the boiling waters as you continue your search for worthwhile investment/purchase opportunities, no matter how you like your potatoes prepared.