WASHINGTON, Oct 30: The opposition Democrats may pick up 25 to 30 seats in the House of Representatives and at least four seats in the Senate, predicts the latest opinion survey on America’s mid-term congressional elections.
Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to regain control of the House, which they lost to Republicans in 1994. A gain of six seats in the Senate will also give Democrats control of the upper chamber. Ohio, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Montana all seem likely to produce Democratic victories.
That would leave the party need-ing to pick up two of the three remaining ‘toss-up’ states: Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.
In the Senate, each state is equally represented by two members; as a result, the total membership of the body is currently 100. In the House of Representatives, each state is represented proportionally to its population, and is entitled to at least one representative. The total number of representatives is currently fixed at 435.
Pollster John Zogby says that a Democratic victory in next Tuesday’s mid-terms is not yet certain. As many as 20 percent of voters are still undecided, he warns.
But even the conservative Washington Times, which strongly favours the ruling Republican Party, acknowledged on Monday that the opposition Democrats have ‘at least an outside chance’ of seizing control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in President George Bush’s presidency.
The campaign for mid-term congressional election entered its final full week on Monday with pollsters predicting that President Bush’s performance during the last six years and his Iraq strategy would have a major impact on the results.
President Bush’s approval rating is currently hovering in the mid to high 30s, which is much lower than Democratic President Bill Clinton’s rating in 1994, which was in the mid to high 40s.
“No matter who wins midterms, honeymoon is over for (Mr) Bush,” the Washington Times ceded.
In a front-page article, the Washington Post noted that Republican candidates are finding it difficult to defend their affiliation with President Bush and their support to the Iraq war.
“This election more and more is becoming a referendum on George Bush, his failed policies both overseas and here at home, and the rubberstamp Congress,” says Democratic Senator for New York, Charles Schumer.
Another front page article in the Post shows how US veterans of the Iraq war find it difficult to settle back into a normal life. “Seven months in Iraq had changed them more than they could have imagined, guiding and afflicting them in ways they are still struggling to understand.”
Also on Monday, the US death toll in Iraq this month climbed to 100, making October the deadliest month since January 2005 when 107 US troops were killed.
Aware of the impact of such stories on the American public opinion, both Republican and Democratic parties agree that that the war in Iraq has become a leading - if not central - issue in the mid-term contest.
Republicans try to turn the campaign spotlight away from the increasingly unpopular war, while the Democrats attempt to tap into voter unhappiness on the issue.
At a press conference at the White House last week, President Bush underlined the attitude of his fellow citizens towards the war. “They want to win,” he said. ‘‘They will support the war as long as they see a path to victory.”
The problem is that fewer and fewer Americans seem to believe that the US is winning in Iraq.
According to polls published last week, just 34 per cent of Americans now support the decision to invade Iraq.
Only one in three Americans think the price that has been paid in deaths and injuries remains justified.
