Politics on the Hudson

CQ Politics is taking another look at Congressional races around the country as the primaries fade away and candidates gear up for November.

It also means that it is time for CQ Politics to do a sweeping assessment of the current House playing field and update our race ratings to reflect a battleground that is still tilted heavily toward Republicans but coming into clearer focus by the day. Will Republicans pick up the 39 seats needed to take back the House and install Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) as Speaker? We just don’t know yet. But Republicans are clearly well-positioned to make significant gains.

This round of race rating changes is major in that it marks the first time this cycle that we are moving Democratic incumbents into the Leans Republican category — meaning the odds are greater that they will be defeated, rather than re-elected, in November. With two notable exceptions, the bulk of changes to our ratings are positive for Republicans.

In doing so, the publication has put the race for New York’s 19th Congressional District, now represented by Democrat John Hall, in the “Moved from Leans Democratic to Tossup.” Hall is facing a challenge from Republican Dr. Nan Hayworth.

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