House Majority Still Uncertain, Republicans Say
WASHINGTON — Republicans carry substantial advantages as they move into the final month of the fall campaign, but the resilience of vulnerable Democrats is complicating Republican efforts to lock down enough seats to capture the House and take control of the unsettled electoral battleground.
By now, Republicans had hoped to put away a first layer of Democrats and set their sights on a second tier of incumbents. But the fight for control of Congress is more fluid than it seemed at Labor Day, with Democrats mounting strong resistance in some parts of the country as they try to hold off a potential Republican wave in November.
The chances of a Republican takeover in the House remain far greater than in the Senate, according to a race-by-race analysis by The New York Times. But enough contests remain in flux that both parties head into the final four weeks of the campaign with the ability to change the dynamic before Election Day.
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Representative Gene Taylor, a conservative Mississippi Democrat who often breaks with his party and usually coasts to re-election, finds himself in a close race. In Illinois, Representative Phil Hare, a Democrat, is trying to hold off an energized challenger, while another Democrat, Representative Bruce Braley, is under attack in his eastern Iowa district. A conservative group based in Des Moines pledged last week to write a check for $800,000 to run television advertisements against Mr. Braley.
New York Time
10/2/10
Magnolia Tribune
