Representative Deborah Pryce, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the history of the U.S. House, has used her prestige as the party's No. 4 leader to enhance her standing back home, winning 60 percent of the vote two years ago in a central Ohio district that President George W. Bush barely carried.
This year, Pryce, 54, who heads the House Republican Conference, is among several leaders who are finding their highly visible party roles and close association with Bush aren't assets with voters, and who may face the toughest re-election races of their careers.
Other leaders in jeopardy in the November elections include Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the No. 3 Senate leader; Jon Kyl of Arizona, who heads the Senate Republican Policy Committee; and Representative Tom Reynolds of New York, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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A Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll conducted last month showed registered voters favoring Democratic candidates over Republicans by 49 percent to 35 percent; 54 percent of respondents said they wanted to see Democrats control Congress. The party needs to pick up 15 seats to retake the House and six seats to take the Senate.
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