If Republicans hold on, they will have a big say in what the next president -- Republican incumbent George W. Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry -- will be able to do.

Largely because of advantages of incumbency in fund raising and name recognition, Republicans are considered a big favorite to maintain the House of Representatives.

Democrats are seen as having a shot to win the Senate, but is not a particularly good one since most of the relatively few competitive races are in Republican-leaning states.

"The odds favor Republicans (in the Senate) because they have more opportunities," said Stu Rothenberg of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.

"I expect the Republicans to retain the House. But it is hard to tell if they will pick up a seat or two or lose a handful," Rothenberg said. Democrats would need a net gain of a dozen to take the chamber.

Republicans now hold the House with 227 of 435 seats and the Senate with 51 of 100 seats. Thirty-four Senate seats and all House seats are up for election.

But only nine of the Senate races -- in South Dakota, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Kentucky -- and about 30 of the House races are seen as competitive.

For Democrats to take control of either chamber, they would essentially have to hold on to their vulnerable seats and win most of the Republican ones.

Going against Democrats is the fact that many of the neck-and-neck Senate races are in largely conservative states that Bush is expected to carry.

The marquee race is in South Dakota were Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle is in jeopardy of becoming the first Senate leader in a half century to be voted out of office.

"I really think we have a 50-50 chance to take Senate," Daschle told Reuters while campaigning last week in his home state.

Citing polls that show most Americans believe the nation is "on the wrong track," Daschle said, "There are a lot of very concerned voters this year who are listening carefully to the Democratic message."