GOP More Confident It Will Gain House Seats In Midterm Election
Republicans plan to target more Democrats in wake of Lewinsky scandal
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Sept. 3) -- In the wake of President Bill Clinton's admission of an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky, Republican strategists are optimistic they can capitalize on the president's troubles in the midterm elections and are expanding their list of Democratic House candidates to target.
 | | House Speaker Newt Gingrich |
Republicans are increasingly confident they can win many of the open House seats, including ones held by retiring Democrats in Oregon, Colorado and Indiana.
Increased efforts to unseat Democrats previously viewed as relatively safe are also being considered, according to The Associated Press. Among the potential targets are third-term Reps. Ron Klink of Pennsylvania and David Minge of Minnesota and freshman Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina.
Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.), chairman of the House GOP campaign committee, told the AP that he has been strategizing with House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "People that we had in marginal areas are stronger than we thought," Linder said. "We're finding swing districts are looking better for us."
 | | Rep. John Linder |
While many analysts were predicting as recently as last spring that Democrats could pick up as many as 12 seats in the November, Republicans are now predicting the reverse will happen.
"I'm saying this thing could be much bigger than the 10, 15 [seat pickup] I've been talking about for a year," Linder said. He added, "Watch everything in Michigan."
Publicly, Democrats scoff at talk of improved Republican prospects, arguing that the races will come down to the quality of the candidates running in the contested districts.
But privately, some are concerned the Lewinsky matter could discourage the party faithful from voting in the fall.
Officials in both parties acknowledge that the impact the scandal will have on the 1998 election is still unclear and will depend largely on Independent Counsel Ken Starr's report, due later this month.
 | | Rep. Martin Frost |
Other events could factor in, including the health of the U.S. economy in the face of the recent stock market turmoil and Russian crisis.
Other Democratic targets include first term Rep. Jay Johnson in Wisconsin and veteran Rep. Lane Evans of Illinois. Republicans also circulated a poll recently suggesting the re-election race of Texas Rep. Martin Frost, chairman of the Democratic campaign committee, was close.
The GOP is also predicting that some of their incumbents previously thought of as vulnerable were now shoring up their seats. Those Republicans include Rep. Vince Snowbarger of Kansas and Bill Redmond of New Mexico, according to the AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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