“While few will say so on the record for fear of alienating party officials or depressing turnout, every one of nearly a dozen Democratic House consultants and political strategists surveyed expect a GOP majority to be elected Tuesday — the consensus was that Democrats would lose somewhere between 50 and 60 seats…

“‘It sucks,’ said Dave Beattie, a Florida-based Democratic pollster who is working on a slate of competitive House races and who acknowledges that the lower congressional chamber is lost. ‘I’m resigned to the fact that it sucks.’…

“‘If some Democratic consultant told you they are feeling better, they must have dropped some heavy drugs,’ said a senior pollster who is working for candidates in competitive races. ‘It’s hard.’…

“‘Everybody that is tied will lose, and everyone that is ahead by a few points will lose because of the GOP wave,’ said one party media consultant who is involved in a wide array of House races. ‘There are going to be some surprises.'”

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“Democratic voters are closely divided over whether President Barack Obama should be challenged within the party for a second term in 2012, an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks Poll finds…

“Among Democrats, 47 percent say Obama should be challenged for the 2012 nomination and 51 percent say he should not be opposed. Those favoring a contest include most who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton’s unsuccessful faceoff against Obama for the 2008 nomination. The poll did not ask if Democrats would support particular challengers…

“‘Nobody wants to work with this guy,’ said Steven Fagin, 45, of Cincinnati. A Democrat and 2008 Obama voter, he cited deep divisions between Democrats and Republicans. ‘We’re never going to get anything done.'”

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“The arena where President Obama and Vice President Biden are making their final appeal to Democrats to get out and vote in Tuesday’s midterm elections was far from capacity Sunday afternoon.

“The crowd estimate stands at 8,000 in the arena that seats just over 13,000 and a couple thousand empty seats are visible above the stage where Obama and Biden rallied supporters.

“The event is the final one in a series of ‘Moving America Forward’ rallies aimed at ginning up enthusiasm with the party’s largely deflated base ahead of Tuesday.”

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