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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Politics.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
...excerpts...
....New Hampshire exit polls indicate more GOP voters dislike Bush than many
people had assumed. Not only did 92 percent of Democratic voters express
unhappiness with the Bush administration, but so did half of those who voted
in the Republican primary....
....Other signs are troubling for Republicans. Democrats turned out in far
greater numbers than Republicans in both Iowa and New Hampshire, suggesting
a higher enthusiasm that also is reflected in fundraising....
....And GOP lawmakers are retiring at five times the rate of Democrats.
Nineteen GOP-held House seats, compared with five Democratic seats, will not
have incumbents running in November. Democrats say they will compete hard
for 11 of the 19.
In the Senate, which reconvenes next week, six Republicans are retiring thus
far, compared to zero Democrats, and the GOP must defend 23 seats to the
Democrats' 12.
Democrats want to expand their 51-49 Senate margin and edge closer to the
60-vote threshold needed to stop filibusters. They hope to win GOP seats
being vacated in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado. They also are pressing
Republican senators in competitive states such as Minnesota, Oregon, New
Hampshire and Maine, while trying to save a hotly contested seat in
Louisiana....
...excerpts...
....New Hampshire exit polls indicate more GOP voters dislike Bush than many
people had assumed. Not only did 92 percent of Democratic voters express
unhappiness with the Bush administration, but so did half of those who voted
in the Republican primary....
....Other signs are troubling for Republicans. Democrats turned out in far
greater numbers than Republicans in both Iowa and New Hampshire, suggesting
a higher enthusiasm that also is reflected in fundraising....
....And GOP lawmakers are retiring at five times the rate of Democrats.
Nineteen GOP-held House seats, compared with five Democratic seats, will not
have incumbents running in November. Democrats say they will compete hard
for 11 of the 19.
In the Senate, which reconvenes next week, six Republicans are retiring thus
far, compared to zero Democrats, and the GOP must defend 23 seats to the
Democrats' 12.
Democrats want to expand their 51-49 Senate margin and edge closer to the
60-vote threshold needed to stop filibusters. They hope to win GOP seats
being vacated in Virginia, New Mexico and Colorado. They also are pressing
Republican senators in competitive states such as Minnesota, Oregon, New
Hampshire and Maine, while trying to save a hotly contested seat in
Louisiana....
