Yes the senate is not in session until after the next election—but only half of the senate is up in 2012, and this seat is not in that half. This seat will, in the least, mean a bigger majority.
In addition to only 16 of the seats being up—and this not being one of them, of the 8 that the Dems control, three aren’t even being contested by the Pubs(only one of the Pubs has a free ride) which means that every seat counts.