At least three Democratic freshmen on the House Education and Labor Committee appeared headed for re-election, according to CNN’s projections. All three pulled out narrow victories in 2006 and were considered possible Republican targets earlier in the election cycle.

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire appears to have fended off a challenge from former Rep. Jeb Bradley, whom she knocked off in 2006. Both this year and in 2006, Shea-Porter called for scrapping the No Child Left Behind Act on the campaign trail

The National Education Association placed a high priority on supporting Shea-Porter in her race. And the education committee chairman, Rep. George Miller of California, came to visit her district to talk about the law. You can read more about her race in this recent Education Week story, which examined education and congressional campaigns.

Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky, who advocated for allowing districts to use local assessments to measure progress under the NCLB law, also appears to have prevailed in a rematch with former Rep. Anne Northrup, whom he unseated in 2006. And Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut seems to have easily won re-election.

Meanwhile, CNN projects that Rep. Ric Keller, a Republican from Florida, who is the ranking member on the House Education subcommittee overseeing higher education, was defeated. Keller has long been an advocate for boosting federal Pell Grants, which help low-income students cover the cost of college. Keller lost to attorney and businessman Alan Grayson.