Democratic party officials, however, are increasingly confident that they have a strong chance to win back the House, if not the Senate.
Symbolically, a groundswell of support has developed for former
Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan--who died in a plane crash Oct. 16--in his race against Republican opponent Sen.
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John Ashcroft.
Carnahan died too late for his name to be removed from the ballot, so his widow, Jean Carnahan, is running in his place. In polls taken this week, Carnahan was shown to be tied with or even leading Ashcroft.