Ground Game

It's down to the wire now for the election. Both parties are trying to get voters to the polls using every tool in the box. This is where the Republicans have been extremely successful in recent elections. Their GOTV operation has become something of a legend. Can it pull off the magic one more time?

GOP strategists said they think their prospects continue to improve as voters digest the guilty verdict against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, positive economic statistics and the prospect of Democrats taking control of one or both chambers of the legislative branch. "I have always believed that Republican voters in many cases come home later, particularly this year," said Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.

President Bush campaigned yesterday in two conservative Plains states, Nebraska and Kansas, where there are no competitive statewide races but where Kansas Rep. Jim Ryun (R) is in trouble and where Nebraska state Sen. Adrian Smith (R) is struggling to win an open seat in a heavily Republican district.

A senior GOP strategist said party officials anticipated that the generic vote would tighten, but they do not consider the shift significant enough to change the contours of this election. More than 20 GOP incumbents are tied with their opponents heading into the final days. "It is the 50-50 districts that turnout can help," said the strategist, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to talk about strategy.

Democrats, mindful of the Republicans' success in getting their voters to the polls in the past two elections, expressed nervousness at signs of tightening in some national polls. But they said private and some public polling in contested House districts continued to show their party in a position to win enough seats to claim the majority.

This late break to the Republicans is scaring heck out the Democrats is the way I interpret that last paragraph. They are more than nervous. I've already had a number of automated calls from the Republican GOTV and I do not live in a state with one of the headline grabbing races. The ground game may be the deciding factor in a lot of these races.