House at Stake,most contested and substantive election in over a decade

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Congressional campaigns have begun early and with unusual intensity this year in many districts across the country, reflecting a consensus in both parties that Republicans could lose control of the House and perhaps the Senate.
A special election in a bedrock Republican Congressional district in San Diego on Tuesday — for the seat left vacant when Representative Randy Cunningham resigned after pleading guilty to corruption charges — has sharpened the early intensity and could provide the clearest evidence so far about whether Democrats can capitalize on the unsettled political climate.

The National Republican Campaign Committee, fearful that a loss or meager victory could further rattle the party and give Democrats a huge boost, has poured at least $4.5 million into the district. And it has enlisted President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Laura Bush to make automated telephone calls to voters, putting the prestige of the White House on the line. But even for candidates who will not face the voters for five months, the campaign is shaping up as not only the most contested midterm election in over a decade, but also the most substantive. In a typical election year, intense campaign activity normally does not begin until around Labor Day.

Democrats and Republicans said they were struck by the level of political activity now going on. Television advertisements have been shown by candidates in at least five districts, party officials said, and there are radio and Internet advertisements popping up around the country. Moveon.org, the liberal advocacy group, began broadcasting hard-hitting advertisements attacking Republican incumbents in four states nearly three months ago and is about to start a second round on Thursday, officials with the organization said.

Visits last week to three competitive districts — encompassing an endangered Republican in Pennsylvania, an endangered Democrat in Illinois and a race for an open seat in upstate New York — found incumbents and their challengers locked in debates over a strikingly wide range of issues, including the war in Iraq, tax cuts, immigration, stem cell research and raising the minimum wage. If this early pattern holds, it could undercut Republican efforts to prevent this election from becoming a national referendum on Mr. Bush and Republican policies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/washington/06elect.html?hp&ex=1149566400&en=404a05edd0417f0a&ei=5094&partner=homepage