In 1994, the Republican Party rode the "Contract with America" platform into both houses of Congress, capturing the majority for the first time in 40 years.
But now the architect of that resurgence, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is back home in Georgia and Republicans face the possibility that the Democrats could wrench back control of the House and Senate this November.
The Republican majority has eroded from a total of 230 House seats in 1995 to the current majority of 222 seats in the House and 56 in the Senate. If only six House districts and four Senate seats fall to the Democrats this November, the Republicans will find themselves in the minority again.
"The current political science models we have suggest that Al Gore will win substantially, the Democrats will re-take the House and the Republicans will keep a slim majority in the Senate," said Larry J. Sabato, government and foreign affairs professor. "But those are just models."
Since representatives are elected to two-year terms, all 435 members of the House are up for reelection this year. Twenty-nine Senate seats will be contested across the country this year from Washington to Maine.
"1994 was a very unusual year with a tremendous turnout of conservatives setting the Republican water mark very high," said Scott Keeter, chair of the department of public and international affairs at George Mason University. "There has been some correction since then."
President Bill Clinton's reelection in 1996 helped nine Democrats win back seats in the House. Voters also responded negatively to the Republican effort to impeach Clinton and voted five Democrats into the House in 1998. The struggle for control of Congress assumes added importance this year because of the upcoming presidential election. The Republicans hope to control Congress and the White House for the first time since 1955, when Dwight Eisenhower was president.
Both parties are battling for Virginia, where 11 congressional districts are split between five Democrats, five Republicans and Independent conservative Charlottesville Rep. Virgil Goode, Jr.
Republicans are specifically focusing on electing Edward Schrock to replace retiring Democratic representative Owen B. Pickett in the second district, which includes Virginia Beach. Schrock faces Democratic challenger Jody Wagner.
Democratic incumbent Virginia Sen. Chuck Robb also faces a tough challenge from former Gov. George Allen (R).
"This is going to be an uphill battle for Robb," said Keeter. "But Allen has some vulnerabilities, so I wouldn't bet a lot of money on this race."
In a high-profile race, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) and Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio vie for an open U.S. Senate seat in New York.
Republicans will try to retain an open Senate seat in Florida and help incumbents in traditional battleground states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Democrats are focusing on unseating one-term Republican incumbents elected in the 1994 landslide - many of whom now are considered politically weak. In Minnesota, for example, Mark Dayton (D) has launched a campaign to oust freshman Republican U.S. Sen. Rod Grams.
Because the next Congress will face hot-button issues such as a national missile defense program, Social Security and income tax reform, and how to spend the Federal budget surplus, both parties are pulling out all the stops to ensure success in November.
But even if the Democrats do manage to win a numerical majority in both houses, it would not be large enough for them to pursue a significant legislative agenda, Sabato said.
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