From Mercury News:
"The presidential campaign has overshadowed the congressional races, but Democrats have been on a trajectory to add to their majorities for weeks. Democratic campaign committees are outspending their counterparts — by about 3 to 1 in the House — and the Senate races are especially challenging for the GOP.
With 35 Senate seats on the ballot, Republicans must defend 23. The Cook Political Report rates only one Democrat, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, as vulnerable. The report says three GOP seats — Virginia, New Mexico and Alaska — are likely to go Democratic, and seven others are genuine toss-ups: Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Oregon.
The political landscape is so tough for the GOP that in Oregon, Republican Sen. Gordon Smith is running TV ads touting how he has worked with Obama on legislation.
The Democrats' current majority of 51 in the Senate relies on Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent. If the party's majority reached 60 or came very close, the party could foil almost any filibuster attempt. It takes 41 votes in the Senate to block a piece of legislation, and if the Republicans can't muster that, they will be fairly powerless.
In the House, Democrats hold a 235-199 majority, and Feehery said that Republicans on Capitol Hill are worrying about "a 20- to 30-seat loss, though that may be overly grim."
In California, Obama's popularity and the worsening economy have put some GOP seats once considered safe in danger, said Allan Hoffenblum, former GOP strategist. He said Reps. David Dreier, Dana Rohrabacher and Brian Bilbray, all from Southern California, could be vulnerable.
"Obama is surging again, so there could be a surprise (GOP loss) here and there," Hoffenblum said." |
