Democrats Confident In Regaining House

Local Democrats think they have a shot at retaking the U.S. House after this year's elections, but analysts say they're not expecting any drastic changes.

The big question on political observers' minds is, who will hold the gavels on Capitol Hill next year? Democrats report momentum on their side after they've launched a series of attacks on the GOP for the party's stance on gender issues, like contraceptive coverage.

But Dave Wasserman, who analyzes U.S. House races for the Cook Political Report, says Democrats are getting a little ahead of themselves by thinking they can retake the House.

"We're not seeing a wave election," he says. "What we're seeing is more of a whirlpool where in one set of Districts, Democrats have the advantage of a political environment that's much closer to 2008, and in another set of Districts it's looking a lot like 2010. And the net result is not a large exchange of seats in the House."

As for local races, House seats in Virginia aren't expected to change hands this year. But Democrats have a shot at picking Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's Sixth District seat in Maryland.