Democrats Face Long Odds To Retake House

By Michelle R. Davis

Washington

Elections 2002 As the midterm elections loom next week, Republicans are jockeying to keep their majority in the House, while Democrats are racing to capture the handful of seats that could put them on top for the first time since 1994.

Political pundits are predicting that Republicans will retain their majority status in the House, where they now hold a 14-vote advantage over Democrats and the one Independent who tends to vote with the Democrats. But they caution that races nationwide are so close that a Democratic overthrow isn't unthinkable.

All of the 435 seats in the House are up for grabs on Election Day, as is the case every two years. With a Republican in the White House and Democrats holding a razor-thin majority in the Senate, the question of which party controls...