Conservative Democrats run in House races
Competing in traditionally GOP strongholds, they campaign on fiscal discipline, gun rights and oil drilling. They may pose a problem to party leaders in Congress if they win.
Reporting from Washington — The prospects for big Democratic gains in the House, amplified by advances in the Senate and a White House victory, have spurred grave Republican warnings of a shift to the left that could bring increases in spending, taxes and regulation.
But if anything, a number of potential Democratic newcomers have been running well to the right of their party's leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). Competing in traditional GOP strongholds, many are campaigning on pledges of fiscal discipline, gun rights and "family values."
If elected, they could pose a problem to party leaders at a time when Democrats hope to gain control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency for the first time since 1994.
"I own seven guns, and nobody's going to take them away from me," said Walt Minnick, a Republican-turned-Democrat in Idaho who is one example of the hopeful Democratic class of 2008. Minnick is in a close race against a wobbly first-term Republican in a district that President Bush handily won in 2004.
In Alaska, Ethan Berkowitz, a Democrat challenging longtime Republican Rep. Don Young, pledged to push for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a step opposed by most Democrats in Congress. "I can't wait to go to Washington, D.C., and tell Nancy Pelosi that she's wrong about ANWR," he said.
In Kentucky, Democrat David Boswell, in a tight race for an open seat previously held by a Republican, declared in a TV ad: "I'm pro-life, against higher taxes, and I will protect our 2nd Amendment rights. You can count on it."
And in Virginia, Democrat Glenn Nye, challenging a two-term Republican incumbent, has even said he would vote to extend Bush's tax cuts, which have been criticized by Democratic leaders as favoring the wealthy.
After gaining control of the House in 2006 for the first time in 12 years, Democrats are expected this year to pick up 20 to 30 additional seats, and perhaps more.
As the election nears, Republicans have stepped up their warnings. "One-party dominance can be very dangerous," says a TV ad for Chris Hackett, a GOP congressional candidate in Pennsylvania.
House Republican leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, whose party controlled Washington for much of the last eight years, warned in a recent memo of "a frenzy of new government programs and pork-barrel projects."
