Indiana GOP's 'safe' seats up for grabs

[cal04]

Hot national and local issues push 3 key races Dems' way

When presidential election returns are reported every four years, Indiana is among the first states to reliably and resoundingly fall into the red Republican column.

But beneath the presidential level, Indiana is a fiercely competitive state between Democrats and Republicans. And that's particularly relevant this year when a trifecta of House races in the state could hold the key to whether the GOP will keep majority control in the House or Democrats will eke out at least the net gain of 15 seats they need to seize the majority they lost in 1994.

The fact that the three GOP-held seats are competitive fewer than three weeks before the Nov. 7 election shows how Republican prospects have soured in 2006.

"No one would have put them on the map'' of battleground seats if Republicans weren't in such trouble, said Amy Walter, House race analyst for the Cook Political Report, a Washington-based political insiders' newsletter.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/21/MNGJILTP111.DTL&type=politics

[wiley]

1. This is huge news!