GOP's Fall Prospects on Capitol Hill: 'Bad or Horrendous'?
Republican leaders don't expect gains in Congress, but want to limit the losses.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2008— -- When Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska was charged with corruption on Thursday, it was just one more blow to his party's chances this fall.
Democrats think they have a chance now to win a Senate race in Alaska for the first time in 34 years.
The party already has a comfortable edge in the House, but controls the Senate only with the support of two independents, including Joseph Lieberman who supports his Republican friend, Sen. John McCain, for the presidency.
Now, though, Democrats believe they can pick up enough seats for a dependable majority.
"Right now, the question is, is this going to be a bad year for Republicans or a truly horrendous one?" Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report said.
Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute said, in a bit of a head-scratcher, "Americans don't like Congress right now. But they don't like Republicans more than they dislike Democrats."
Members of the GOP recognize they are in a tough spot. A spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said, "There are no safe Republican seats in this election."
Even the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, is in a tough race, and admits his hopes for the GOP are modest.
"We're not going to be back in the majority in the Senate next year," he told CNN. "The numbers make that impossible."
But McConnell still said he hopes his party can avoid major losses.
So, with an unpopular president and a shaky economy, what can Republicans, like New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu do? He has decided he wants Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, not President Bush, to campaign with him.
"He's done well here in the primaries, and it's certainly good for every Republican in New Hampshire to have him at the top of the ticket," Sununu told ABC News.
