Polls give GOP a lift on election eve

Republicans are counting on a late surge in the public-opinion polls to cut their expected losses as a record number of American voters are predicted to participate in today's midterm elections.

Democrats expressed concerns yesterday about recent polls that suggested a slip in support, but they are still widely expected to pick up a significant number of seats in both houses of Congress and deliver President Bush his first electoral setback since he was first elected in 2000.

"We are feeling very, very good about things," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat and chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Other Democrats are less ebullient. His House counterpart, Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said he was "nervous" about the latest polls.