Election trouble

A Democratic victory in a conservative Mississippi congressional district Tuesday following two other GOP upsets has Republicans worried about their prospects, especially in the House, in the fall.

Democrat Travis Childers won the House seat representing northern Mississippi, retaking what had been seen as a safe Republican district that gave President Bush 62 percent of its votes in 2004. It was the third seat vacated by Republicans that went Democratic in recent special elections. The other instances were in Louisiana two weeks ago and Illinois in March.

The win pushed the Democrats to a 236-to-199 majority in the House. The defeats have House Republicans and strategists looking to the fall, when they could lose more seats.

"Clearly, we've got problems that are deep and serious in terms of how we're going to do in the fall elections," said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, chairman of the national Republican Congressional Committee.

House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio called the Mississippi defeat "another wake-up call."

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who is not seeking re-election this year, predicted his party will lose 25 seats in November.

Party leaders are also troubled about Senate elections. Twenty-three Republican-held seats are on the ballot and some of them will be open seats. None of the 12 Democratic seats will be open.

Republicans gathered behind closed doors Wednesday debated what course to take and later floated a new slogan, "The Change You Deserve," picking up on a prevalent theme in the presidential campaign.

Some members want to see a break with President Bush's war policies, while others want a return to their more traditional view of limited government and fiscal discipline. Rep. Cole said his party needs a "forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for." Defining that may not be so easy.