Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Two months before election day, the U.S. economy is teetering. President Obama's approval ratings are anemic. Republican voters are pumped. The smart money is betting against Democratic incumbents. With the political and economic landscape tilted so steeply against the Democrats, the biggest question is: How in the world could Republicans not win control of Congress? But despite all its assets, the GOP still faces hurdles. It suffers a disadvantage in fundraising, a national organization in shambles, an inconsistent message, and bruises from a tumultuous primary season — all factors that could make the difference between winning and winning big. "This isn't going to be as easy as it looks, by any means," said Terry Holt, a top aide to George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign who has been informally advising House Republican leaders.

BAKERSFIELD - Fernando Jara is something of a star in Kern County - and a mystery. From humble beginnings, Jara founded a program to rehabilitate drug addicts and felons on a five-acre farm. He is completing a master's degree at Claremont School of Theology and will soon begin work on a doctorate and a law degree. The energetic 37-year-old and his wife, a Kern County supervisor and rising political star, attended President Obama's inauguration in January at the invitation of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

WASHINGTON - Early this year, Leticia Perez and her husband flew here for a whirlwind 48 hours. The couple dined at the Italian Embassy, visited the Lincoln Memorial and joined the crowd on the National Mall watching as President Obama was inaugurated for a second term. Their host was the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which hoped to persuade Perez, a Kern County supervisor, to run for a Central Valley congressional seat. But a few weeks later, Perez ignored the entreaties from Washington when a spot in the state Senate unexpectedly opened up. The trip from the state capital to the Senate district, a 2 1/2-hour drive, was far more enticing than the cross-country flight between California and Capitol Hill, especially with a 2-year-old at home.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is doing everything it can to defeat certain targeted Republicans around the country. All part of the perpetual PR combat between parties. One of those targeted Republicans is Dana Rohrabacher, a former speechwriter for President Reagan and an 11-term Republican who represents California's 46th Congressional District, basically built around Long Beach and nearby beach areas. Need any proof of Washington's basic cluelessness these days?

WASHINGTON -- Mark Sanford, after a detour to the governor's office and, infamously, to Argentina, is back in Washington as a member of Congress.  The former three-term congressman and two-term governor was sworn in Wednesday as the representative for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, after a comeback victory in a special election last week. In brief remarks after taking the oath of office, Sanford declared himself "humbled" to return. "Each one of our lives involve different journeys.

WASHINGTON - Two years after Mark Sanford left the South Carolina governor's office tarred by an adultery scandal, he has completed an unlikely political comeback to win a special congressional election, holding the seat for Republicans. Sanford defeated Democratic neophyte Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of the late-night satirist Stephen Colbert, in the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District on Tuesday. He reclaims a House seat he once held for three terms. The bitter race had been expected to be tight, but the Associated Press called it just 90 minutes after the polls closed.

In announcing his wrongheaded proposal to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour, President Obama spoke in lofty terms: "In the wealthiest nation on Earth," he said in his State of the Union address last month, "no one who works full time should have to live in poverty. " If the debate proceeds as it has -- many times -- in the past, then most Democrats will embrace the president's message and back the proposal, while most Republicans will oppose it, on the grounds that higher labor costs will lead to higher unemployment.

U.S. Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica) has been named one of six co-chairmen of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Levine will work on fund-raising and other political activities.

Top Democrats told the party's financial supporters they want to recruit candidates early for targeted 1998 congressional races to wrest control of the House of Representatives from Republicans. The Democrats outlined their strategy for recapturing the 435-member House, where they need to win 10 more seats to gain a majority, during a retreat in Miami with key contributors in the Democratic Business Council. Rep.

Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica) Friday was named one of six co-chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for the party's House candidates. House Speaker Jim Wright made the appointment in Los Angeles. He also spoke Thursday night at a Levine fund-raising dinner. Political professionals say it is a recognition of Levine's growing fund-raising skills. Levine, 44, was elected to the House in 1982 and is viewed by Democratic activists as a possible future U.S.