Can Democrats Win The Senate? - CBSNews.com

[question everything]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/05/politics/main604419.shtml

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At this point, in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, things look less than rosy for the Democrats when it comes to picking up seats in November. But the potential exists for a coup by the Democrats in the Senate, which is currently controlled by the GOP by a miniscule margin.

For Democrats, the House races this fall will boil down to trying to prevent the GOP from extending its lead. Last week, Democratic officials told The Washington Post that they'd all but abandoned hope of taking back the House, where Republicans have a commanding 228 to 206 majority.

That leaves the Senate to carry Democrats' dreams on Capitol Hill.

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The DSCC thinks that seven of their own incumbents are "intimidators": Chuck Schumer of New York, Pat Leahy of Vermont, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Democrats say five of their incumbents will face tough races, including: Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Barbara Boxer of California, Harry Reid of Nevada and Patty Murray of Washington.

The Democrats' biggest hurdle will be keeping the five Southern seats that are being vacated. In a region that voted wholesale for President Bush in 2000 and has been trending Republican in every election for the last 30 years, it's been conventional wisdom that having five senators retire in the same year is comparable to the Democrats starting a tennis match by conceding the first set.

That being said, it's not a foregone conclusion that the GOP will pick up all five seats being vacated by John Edwards of North Carolina, Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, Zell Miller of Georgia, Bob Graham of Florida and John Breaux of Louisiana.

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