House Of Representatives, Elections | featured news

Republicans enter the final week of a bitter U.S. election campaign as heavy favorites to win control of the House of Representatives and score big Senate gains, dealing a severe blow to President Barack Obama two years after he entered the White House.

House and Senate candidates have already shattered fundraising records for a midterm election and are on their way to surpassing $2 billion in spending for the first time, according to new campaign finance data.

A week before the midterm elections, Michelle Obama said Monday that the race for the congressional majority is "too close" and voters must recapture the energy that swept her husband and fellow Democrats to power in 2008.

The head of the GOP predicted "an unprecedented wave" on Election Day, even as polls in some states showed Democrats gaining ground.

Some Democrats are opening up a new front in their fight to save their seats — against Nancy Pelosi, a party leader.

FiveThirtyEight's projection for the U.S. House shows little change from last week. Republicans are given a 73 percent chance of taking over the House, up incrementally from 72 percent last week. During an average simulation run, Republicans finished with 227 seats, up from 226 last week; this would suggest a net gain of 48 seats from the 179 they hold currently.

Republicans may wrest control of the US House from Democrats by winning more than 40 seats in the November election, said Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of his party's House campaign committee.

Republicans could win control of the House of Representatives in elections in November, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs acknowledged on Sunday.

A Democratic state senator on Tuesday handily won the first U.S. House race since Congress passed a massive health care overhaul.