Political blog

We call this file “Wave Watch” because that’s what everyone expects to be doing on Tuesday time period - watching a wave of Democratic congressional victories from Florida to Oregon and in .

Call it the Republican “silver lining” list, even this lining is , thin.

But heading into the final weekend of campaigning, we’re going to take a look at a few Republicans who strength buck the trend, and the Democrats who strength experience the base past of losing in one of the best time of life for their party.

Murtha, the powerful chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, thought he would coast to ending until he announced, with cameras rolling, that his constituents were racist and his western Pennsylvania district was ” rustic.” Now, polls show Murtha in a dead heat with his Republican contestant, retired U.S. Army commissioned military officer commissioned military officer William Russell.

Let’s start with the Republicans favorite monster, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who is in deep trouble — so much so that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee pumped over $400,000 into his race in the final life.

“Calling American soldiers cold blooded killers and the voters of your district racists and rednecks is a good way to make a non-agonistic vote a agonistic one,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Ken Spain. “After four decades in Congress, it is safe to say that John Murtha has grown out of touch.”

If Murtha loses, it would be one heck of a pelt for Republicans to limp home with at the end of a long Election time period.

In Alabama’s Fifth District, Republicans have gained friction by accusing Democratic state legislator Parker Griffith of medical wrongdoing when he served as an specialist in the 1980s at a Huntsville medical building. And now the NRCC is up with an ad that quotes Griffith on tape saying “we have nothing to fear from radical Islam.” Democratic inner polling shows the race tightening, time Republicans beg they have the lead.

Down in the Atlanta region, meanwhile, Democratic Rep. David Scott is locked in such a tough race that the Congressional Black Caucus and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) have come to the rescue. The DCCC raised $200,000 this time period for Scott, whose Republican opponent Deborah Honeycutt raised $4.3 million and is polling the boundary of nonaccomplishment in a race for what was supposed to be a safe seat.

Meanwhile, Republicans in the Kansas City can rest easy, as one of their more assailable members, Rep. Sam Graves, looks safe now that the DCCC pulled its medium of exchange out of the race. Former Kansas City civil authority Kay Barnes was one of the Democrats’ leading recruits, but a Graves campaign promotion portraying her as an elite San Francisco liberal seems to have hurt her in this agrarian district. Automated polling has shown Graves with a double-integer lead.

It would be an bonzer upset for Republicans to win the contest, because this northern Alabama district has elected a Republican.

In 2006, Democrats didn’t suffer one of their own seats. But even if all of the endangered Democratic incumbents suffer this time period, the party will beat the pain if it can pick-up 30 or more Republican seats, as some analysts are projecting.

There are some different Democrats in trouble, each for incomparable reasons. Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) looks like he’s finished thanks to his publicized intersexual concern and related allegations of six-figure hush medium of exchange. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) is struggling in Scranton due to citizen fatigue after 25 time of life, with recent controversies over earmarks that went to businesses run by unit members. Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.), one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, has been hurt by his vote in favor of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, which was not best-selling in his central Georgia district. And in Louisiana, Republicans have a good shot of taking back the Baton Rouge district held by Democrat Don Cazayoux, who won his seat in a special vote earlier this time period.

Or is Democrat Kay Hagan closing the deal in North Carolina?

AD OF THE DAY: Here’s one straight out of Bizarro World, where everything is opposite of experience. Mitch McConnell, the ultimate Washington Republican corporate executive, slams his opponent Bruce Lunsford for having a lot of houses and being rich. The ad has a few more Lunsford criticisms, then shows McConnell, whose fiscal speech act forms place his net worth $2.9 million and $12.7 million((MARTY—I thought we had to put that in)), with some attractive kids:

protocol://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6ydy8xAhng

Are Elizabeth’s Dole’s “Godless” ads backfiring in God’s political unit?

Kansas Republican Nick Jordan may have just nailed the cake vote in his bid to upset Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.). We’re not sure how big the cake vote is in Overland Park, Kan., but last time period as part of his “Midnight Ride to Wake up Washington,” Jordan visited three IHOPs, three Denny’s and one Waffle House, all in the course of four work time.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll released Friday shows Hagan up 53 proportion to 44 proportion, the biggest lead Hagan has had so far.