GOP official says economic uncertainty no election threat; Democrats say he's ignoring warning signs

August 2, 2002

WASHINGTON (AP) - The congressional elections will be decided at the local level and should not be affected by growing voter concerns about the economy and the country's direction, a lawmaker leading the GOP's strategy on House elections says.

Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Democrats would like the elections to be fought on national themes because they have limited local targets, but he dismissed poll numbers that suggest the campaigns are becoming increasingly volatile.

"There just aren't that many competitive races, barring some kind of tsunami," Davis said at a media briefing Friday. "We are in the field a lot and we see no national trend."

Davis said he's aware that polls have shown an increasing number of people who believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, but said he doesn't think a particular party will be blamed for that.

Just over a third, 36 percent, in a bipartisan poll conducted for National Public Radio and released this week said the country is headed in the right direction but over half, 56 percent, said it was on the wrong track.

Women and voters over 65 were most likely to say the country is on the wrong track, according to the poll.

Jenny Backus, communications director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Davis and other leading Republicans are ignoring the warning signals.

"Tom Davis' comments reinforce the idea that Republicans in Washington are out of touch with voter issues," she said. "There are more than enough races in play for us to take back the House."

Davis said that in 1994, there were early warning signs that Republicans would sweep many Democrats out of Congress and he isn't seeing signs of such a change this year.

In fact, the congressional matchup between Republicans and Democrats remains basically even in this poll, as it has been in many other polls.