Sex scandal, Iraq leave Republicans vulnerable in polls

Accusations that Republicans had sought to cover up a House of Representatives lawmaker's sexual overtures to underage boys, and a spate of damaging reports alleging government duplicity and failure in Iraq have given the Democrats their first chance since 1994 to capture Congress.

No pollster is ready to promise a Democrat victory, as races in too many districts and states are too close to call.

But a Newsweek poll out Saturday shows that the recent news has devastated the Republicans even on issues such as morality and national security that voters had once overwhelmingly trusted the party on.

A Democrat victory in one or both of the bodies could force major policy compromises on the Bush presidency, whose confident command for nearly six years has relied on the Republican lock on the legislature.

"The majority is certainly endangered in the House, the Senate is still leaning Republican, but just leaning," said political analyst Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia.