From The New York Times, 5/21/06:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/washington/21house.html?ex=1305864000&en=0a0a9c3f1878a86c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
In House Races, More G.O.P. Seats Look Vulnerable
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
WASHINGTON --
For months, even in the face of an avalanche of bad news for
Republicans, Democratic ambitions for capturing Congress have collided
with an electoral map created to protect Republicans from ouster.
Despite polls showing rising support for Democrats and scorn for
Republicans, analysts have said Democratic hopes for big gains remain
remote, because so few seats are in contention.
That appears to be changing.
Over the past week, a handful of once-safe Republican Congressional
seats have come into play, and other Republican incumbents are facing
increasingly stiff re-election battles, according to analysts,
pollsters and officials in both parties.
The change amounts to a slight but significant shift in the playing
field, and a potentially pivotal change in the dynamics of this
midterm election.
In a Republican primary in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Representative Don
Sherwood drew 56 percent of the vote against a little-known
challenger, a display of weakness in a race that both parties now see
as being in play.
The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee has spent at least
$1.9 million in the June 6 special election to replace Representative
Randy Cunningham, who was forced out in an ethics investigation, in a
California district that should be a cinch for Republicans.
On Friday, President Bush flew to the Congressional districts of two
Republicans who had once seemed heading for easy re-election -- Thelma
Drake in Virginia and Geoff Davis in Kentucky -- to help them raise
money.
A White House adviser said the decision to send Mr. Bush reflected
concern about the challenges the first-term incumbents face.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which tracks Congressional
races, increased the number of Republican seats viewed as competitive
on Friday to 36 from 24, said Amy Walter, an analyst there.
Democrats seem to be in increasingly good shape to pick up seats in
bands of districts across Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York, as
well as districts throughout Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, New
Mexico, California and Florida.
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Magnificent
Harry
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