Congressional elections usually hard to pick

Press, 6 November 1978, Page 9

Congressional elections usually hard to pick

NZPA staff correspondent Washington i Never has the outcome of ; an American mid-term Congressional election been so ; unpredictable as tomorrow’s, i Amid signs of wild swings! in public opinion, large blocs' of’ “undecided,” and blurred] . party images, political ex-i ■ pens are carefully hedging! their forecasts of results. The confused election is! :; nowhere as apparent as in, ■[the battles for some of the ■ 35 Senate seats at stake. “I’ve never seen anything; Hike it,” one high-ranking ([Republican official said. Some of his party’s candi-' dates were taking daily pools to chart the quick' /changes in the public's, ■ mood. ■ The Republican Party' I chairman (Mr Bill Brock)' and his Democratic opposite;, li number, Mr John White,, I (agreed in Washington that! either party could lose Sen- ' ate seats this year, or that!

(the struggle could end in a • draw. In addition to choosing i one-third of the Senate for six-year terms, voters will select an all-new House of ; Representatives (435 seats) (and 36 state governorships, i The 1978 elections earlier [seemed custom-made for the j Republicans, demands for ; lower taxes and less government sweeping the country. But the Democrats, lad" by ~ a resurgent President Jimmy Carter, took on the ffiant!e| of fiscal conservatives, ■ poaching the Republicans' 'political aces. “U.S. News and World Re-; port” notes that many! Democrats, some known as; 'liberals, have latched on to.. ; traditional Republican posiI tions, blunting Grand Old 'Party attempts to ride a i j nationwide conservative i [drift. The magazine adds that [Republicans who backed the . Kemp-Roth tax-reduction , I programme found that many i

voters questioned the inflationary aspects of the measure. A striking feature of a re-1 cent national public opinionl poll asking which party! voters would like to see win! in their districts, revealed! that 26 per cent of the conJ servatives endorsed the! Democratic candidate and! only 27 per cent the Re-1 publicans.