NEW YORK -- Republicans received good news this morning, as a new round of Mason-Dixon polls shows two Senate GOP incumbents statistically tied with their Democratic challengers and the Republican candidate in Tennessee holding a 12 point lead over his Democratic opponent.

Voters head to the polls on Tuesday in an election where control of Congress is on the line. For most of this election cycle, Republicans have been forced to play defense as it struggles to maintain control of the House and Senate. But these new polls give Republicans hope in maintaining the Senate majority.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-Rhode Island, holds a one point advantage (46 percent to 45 percent with 9 percent undecided) over Democratic nominee Sheldon Whitehouse, while Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Montana, has pulled even (47 percent to 47 percent with 5 percent undecided and 1 percent backing someone else) with Democratic nominee Jon Tester. The Mason-Dixon polls, conducted for McClatchy Newspapers-MSNBC, also shows Tennessee Republican nominee Bob Corker leading his opponent, Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr. by 12 percentage points (50 percent to 38 percent with 9 percent undecided and 3 percent supporting someone else).

In other Senate races Mason-Dixon polled:

-- Sen. Jim Talent, R-Missouri, trails his Democratic opponent Claire McCaskill by 1 percentage point (46 percent to 45 percent with 7 percent undecided and 2 percent backing someone else).
-- Sen. George Allen, R-Virginia, trails his Democratic challenger James Webb by 1 point (46 percent to 45 percent).
-- Rep. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, holds a 3 point lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (47 percent to 44 percent with 9 percent undecided and 1 percent favoring someone else).
-- Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, has a 7 point lead over his GOP challenger Tom Kean, Jr. (48 percent to 41 percent with 8 percent undecided and 3 percent supporting someone else).
-- Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Arizona, has an 8 point lead over his Democratic challenger Jim Pederson (49 percent to 41 percent with 7 percent undecided and 3 percent backing someone else.)
-- Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, trails his Democratic challenger, Rep. Sherrod Brown, by 6 percentage points (50 percent to 44 percent) with 5 percent undecided and 1 percent supporting someone else).
-- Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, trails Democratic opponent Bob Casey Jr., by 13 points (52 percent to 39 percent with 7 percent undecided and 2 percent backing someone else).
-- Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, holds a 16 point lead over her Republican opponent Mike Bouchard (53 percent to 37 percent with 7 percent undecided and 3 percent supporting someone else).
-- Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, has a 16 point lead over her Democratic opponent Mike McGavick (54 percent to 38 percent with 7 percent undecided and 1 percent supporting someone else).

-- CNN Political Editor Mark Preston

The CNN Political Ticker AM, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2006


CNN: Hussein sentenced to death
The Iraqi High Tribunal today sentenced a combative Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail. The five-member tribunal met amid heavy security and curfews to give its verdict, as authorities braced for violent reactions. The case now must be reviewed by a court of appeal. http://www.cnn.com/

***

NYT: G.O.P. Glum as It Struggles to Hold Congress
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 -- The battle for Congress rolled into a climactic final weekend with Republican Party leaders saying the best outcome they could foresee was losing 12 seats in the House. But they were increasingly steeling themselves for the loss of at least 15 seats and therefore control of the House for the first time in 12 years.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/us/politics/05elect.html?hp&ex=1162789200&en=179e709e40bd900b&ei=5094&partner=homepage

***

WP: Democrats, on the Offensive, Could Gain Both Houses
Two days before a bitterly fought midterm election, Democrats have moved into position to recapture the House and have laid siege to the Senate, setting the stage for a dramatic recasting of the power structure in Washington for President Bush's final two years in office, according to a Washington Post analysis of competitive races across the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110401177.html

***

The Washington Times: Battle for the Hill reaches overdrive
The headlong race for control of the Congress shifted into political overdrive today, with Democrats leading in enough contests to win back the House and score big gains in the Senate. http://www.washingtontimes.com/specialreport/20061105-124056-6450r.htm

***

Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ford challenges poll.
With a new poll showing Republican Bob Corker's lead over Democrat Harold Ford Jr. surging to double digits days before Tuesday's election, both U.S. Senate campaigns scrambled Saturday to keep voters engaged and motivated.
The latest Mason-Dixon Tennessee Poll, conducted by telephone Wednesday through Friday, showed Corker leading Ford 50-38 percent among 625 likely voters. Two weeks ago, the poll -- sponsored by The Commercial Appeal, the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, MSNBC and McClatchy Newspapers -- gave Corker a 45-43 lead. http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/politics/article/0,1426,MCA_1496_5119722,00.html

*

NYT: Star Power to Blood Sport, Tennessee Senate Race Has It
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 4 -- Control of the Senate is at stake, and Cybill Shepherd is sitting in the front row at a church rally in Memphis, blowing a kiss to Bill Clinton.
Mr. Clinton is about to say nice things about Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., the Democratic Senate candidate, but first he has to say how much he loves Ms. Shepherd’s movies and how he always looks for them when he is home alone at night, channel surfing. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/us/politics/05diary.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

***

AJC: Feds investigate photo ID letters sent to Ga. voters
Federal voting rights officials are investigating Georgia's botched efforts to educate voters about a photo ID law struck down by the courts.
Christy McCormick, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Voting Section's Civil Rights Division, has asked the Georgia Attorney General's office for information about the state's voter education efforts, according to e-mails obtained Friday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the state's Open Records Act. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2006/11/04/1104metvoting.html

*

Cincinnati Enquirer: New machines, ID requirements keep many on their toes
Tuesday is Election Day, but from the way some groups are talking, it's Election Doomsday. Voters for the first time will have to show identification, and for the first time in a general election, voters in all 88 Ohio counties will use either touch-screen electronic machines or ones that electronically scan paper ballots. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061105/NEWS01/611050360

*

Baltimore Sun: Mail-voting extension sought
Facing the possibility that thousands of potential voters might not have time to get their absentee ballots postmarked by tomorrow's deadline - meaning they wouldn't be counted for Tuesday's election - an ad hoc coalition of attorneys groups and civil rights organizations is asking the state to extend the cutoff by a day. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/bal-md.deadline05nov05,0,1094810.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

***

WP: Bush, Cheney Blitz West In Final Campaign Drive
President Bush and Vice President Cheney blitzed through Western states yesterday, revving up conservative voters with threats of tax increases and legalized gay marriage if Democrats win big on Tuesday. Bush delivered his weekly radio address live from a Colorado coffee shop, touting the tax cuts that a Republican-led Congress approved during his first term. A favorite line is to quote House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declaring that Democrats also love tax cuts. "Given her record," Bush says at every stop now, "she must be a secret admirer." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110400992.html

***
The Boston Globe: GOP counts on strength of Southern base
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. -- Patricia Bollozos is the kind of person who haunts Democrats who yearn for a transformation in politics: She voted for John F. Kerry for president, throws up her hands and says, "I agree, the war is a mess," but is voting a straight Republican ticket this time around. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/11/05/gop_counts_on_strength_of_southern_base/

***

The Washington Times: Black ministers with clout back Ehrlich
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. received the endorsement yesterday of a half-dozen black ministers who could sway Democratic voters in the battlegrounds of Prince George's County and Baltimore to cross party lines in the election Tuesday.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20061104-112722-6888r.htm

***

The Baltimore Sun: GOP has hope Md. can buck trend
The national mood is so grim that analysts predict Republicans could lose control of one or both houses of Congress and relinquish governors' mansions across the country. But with just two days to go before the election, the story in Maryland could be very different. Polls here show tightening races for governor and the open U.S. Senate seat, leaving the tantalizing possibility for the GOP that one of the most reliably Democratic states in national elections could buck the national trend and go Republican. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/elections/bal-te.md.elections05nov05,0,199257.story?coll=bal-election-headlines

***

The Star-Ledger: Jersey voters say ethics isn't as big an issue as Iraq
The top issues that will guide New Jersey voters Tuesday as they choose between the candidates for U.S. Senate are the war in Iraq and control of the Senate, a Star-Ledger poll has found -- issues Democrat Robert Menendez has stressed during the campaign.
More than half of likely voters surveyed cited one of those two issues as the most important factor in their decision. http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1162705636122940.xml&coll=1

***

Philadelphia Inquirer: Senate race reaches bitter end
Republican Thomas H. Kean Jr. and Democrat Robert Menendez have been calling each other names for months in their battle for Menendez's U.S. Senate seat. Kean calls Menendez corrupt. Menendez calls Kean inept. On Tuesday, it will be up to the state's 4.8 million voters to muddle through the name-calling and make a choice. The race is nationally significant because, with some of the Republican majority in trouble, control of the Senate is at stake. The New Jersey contest has been close, and both parties have brought in national figures and millions of dollars to try to tip the balance. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15912906.htm

***

Philadelphia Inquirer: Santorum ends up swinging, Casey unswerving
Democrat Bob Casey Jr. plays Oprah to Sen. Rick Santorum's blunt-talking Dr. Phil - one more prosaic, the other primal scream. From the stump speeches to the TV ads - even their wardrobes - Pennsylvania's Senate candidates are taking vastly different routes to Tuesday's election. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15930432.htm

***

Richmond Times Dispatch: Race down to the wire
Democrat Jim Webb is edging Republican incumbent George Allen for the U.S. Senate, according to a Times-Dispatch Poll that also shows fading enthusiasm for a ban on same-sex marriage. In the newspaper's final pre-election snapshot of voter preferences, Webb leads Allen by a statistically insignificant 1 percentage point, 46 percent to 45 percent. Two percent favor independent Glenda Gail Parker and 7 percent are undecided.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149191524439

***

Missoulian: Republican leaders believe their legendary ‘secret weapon' will turn the tide HELENA - Republican Sen. Conrad Burns may be facing the political fight of his life, but calm GOP operatives believe they have a secret weapon that will push him over the top in Tuesday's vote. For the first time, Republicans in Montana are putting into place the national party's vaunted 72-Hour Task Force for the final three days of the campaign, state GOP executive director Chuck Denowh said. It may be the party's ace in the hole.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/11/05/news/mtregional/news02.txt

*

Missoulian: Tester supporters think purple ‘Barney' will send their candidate to D.C.BILLINGS - A bright purple semi-trailer nicknamed “Barney” sits innocuously in front of the Yellowstone County Democratic Party's headquarters on this city's Southside.The 74 1/2-foot-long trailer doesn't draw much attention. It looks no different than the other thousands being hauled across Montana or parked to pick up or deliver products. http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/11/05/news/mtregional/news03.txt

***

The Columbus Dispatch: DeWine, Brown seek to rally party faithful
Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Mike DeWine spent the past two days preaching to those they hope are the already converted as they dashed across the state and into the final weekend of Ohio’s nationally watched Senate race.
http://www.dispatch.com/?story=dispatch/2006/11/05/20061105-A1-05.html

*

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Democrats leading in most state races
A wave is breaking, and it threatens to wash the Republican Party out of the state offices it has dominated for 16 years. With three days to go before Tuesday's election, not a single Republican leads among candidates for the top five state offices. The party's gubernatorial candidate, Ken Blackwell, appears headed for a major thrashing. Democrat Ted Strickland, who has never trailed in polls this year, leads Blackwell by 19 points, 56 percent to 37 percent. Democrats vying for secretary of state, auditor and treasurer also lead their Republican opponents, though by smaller margins.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1162632994132110.xml&coll=2

***

Macon Telegraph: Control of Congress could turn on Middle Georgia races
Tuesday is Election Day, and control of Congress may come down to a couple of Georgia races. The 8th Congressional District, which includes Macon, and the 12th District, which includes Milledgeville, are key to both parties' hopes for a majority, according to local and national political analysts.
http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15933062.htm

***

Sun-Sentinel: Florida could tilt control of House
WASHINGTON · When the polls close Tuesday evening and South Florida voters ease back to watch election results, three congressional races close to home could signal which party will control Congress for the next two years. If Democrats win at least two of these suspenseful races -- two in South Florida and one around Sarasota -- it would foreshadow a long, dreadful night for Republicans. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/elections/sfl-aelxpreview05nov05,0,2316012.story?coll=sfla-news-election

*

Palm Beach Post: Governor race tightens: Crist still leads confidently, but Davis gains
TAMPA — Maybe Jim Davis should just go ahead and declare victory. Name a transition team. Act as if Charlie Crist has no real chance of becoming Florida's 44th governor Tuesday.
That was some of the thinking going on in the Davis campaign last week after the Democratic candidate for governor finally began to emerge as a serious threat to Crist.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2006/11/05/m1a_flagov_1105.html>