US: As polls show Republicans facing heavy losses in tomorrow's mid-term elections, party leaders have sought to counter criticism of the war in Iraq, accusing Democrats of defeatism.
Both parties have invested millions of dollars in last-minute advertising campaigns in almost 50 closely contested House of Representatives seats and nine close Senate races as thousands of volunteers work on get-out-the-vote operations.
A new Newsweek poll shows Republicans losing ground and most analysts now predict that the party will lose control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. Some Senate races have tightened to the Republicans' advantage, however, suggesting that Democrats could fall short of the gain of six seats they need for a Senate majority.
The new poll finds support for Republicans receding, with 53 per cent of Americans wanting the Democrats to win enough seats to take control of one or both houses of Congress. Senator John Kerry's gaffe over Iraq last week, when he suggested that US soldiers there lacked education, appears to have had little impact on voting intentions.
Senator Elisabeth Dole, who is leading the Republican Senate campaign, acknowledged yesterday that the atmosphere was tough for her party but predicted that Republicans would hold the Senate. She said that voters understood that winning the war in Iraq was essential for US national security.
"We need to win the war, and it would be disastrous to lose. To pull out and withdraw is losing. The Democrats appear to be content with losing," she said.
Democrats are confident that discontent with the Iraq war will help them to victory tomorrow and they dismissed the impact of yesterday's death sentence on Saddam Hussein. "The Iraqis have traded a dictator for chaos. Neither option is acceptable, especially when it is our troops who are caught in the middle," said Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid.
Democrats are confident of winning more than the 15 seats they need for a majority in the House, where all 435 seats are up for election.
"People want change and that's why we are so, so close to taking back the Senate," Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, head of the party's Senate campaign committee, said on NBC.
In the Senate, Democrats look almost certain to win in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Republican incumbents Mike DeWine and Rick Santorum are trailing badly.
Two other races - in Rhode Island and Montana - where Democrats were ahead, have tightened in recent days and Republican incumbents Lincoln Chafee and Conrad Burns are now running level with their Democratic challengers.
In Tennessee, Republican Bob Corker has pulled ahead of Democrat Harold Ford and Republicans are increasingly confident of holding the seat.
Missouri and Virginia have been neck and neck races for weeks but Democrats believe they can make gains there if there is a big wave against republicans nationally.
Republicans are pouring funds into races in two Democrat-held states - New Jersey and Maryland - although most analysts believe that Democrats will hold both seats. New Jersey senator Bob Menendez is under investigation for corruption and faces a strong challenge from Republican Tom Kean Jr. In Maryland, Democrat Ben Cardin, a veteran congressman, has lost ground to Republican Michael Steele, an African-American who last week won endorsements from some prominent black organisations.