Battle For The Burbs

We shall see won't we? It is encouraging that Demos will have more of a fighting chance in the burbs than in past years.

In searching for any advantage in this year's Congressional elections, the two parties are focusing with increased intensity on those cul de sac jungles of tenuous political loyalties, the suburbs and exurbs.

After years in which Republicans capitalized on rapid growth in outlying areas, Democrats now see an opportunity to make gains in close-in suburbs where changes in the composition of the population are working in their favor. In a dozen or so Congressional districts that are leading battlegrounds in the midterm elections, older, more densely packed suburbs are trending Democratic, helping to offset Republican dominance on the sprawling exurban frontier.

Democratic hopes of retaking the House, party strategists say, could hinge on places like Bellevue, a city of 107,000 just across Lake Washington from Seattle. Here, a fast-growing Asian population and an influx of empty-nesters and singles living in new residential complexes have helped to make this the kind of district that, while continuing to send a Republican to Congress, has turned increasingly Democratic.

Both sides are taking steps to tailor their messages to, and train their firepower on, those swing suburbs. On Friday, President Bush will fly into this prosperous district as the draw of a fund-raiser intended to help Representative Dave Reichert hold on to his seat. The president's arrival will follow hard on the heels of a visit by Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is in charge of the Democrats' efforts to win back the House.

"The future of both parties is in the suburbs," said Mr. Emanuel, who was here on behalf of Mr. Reichert's Democratic challenger, Darcy Burner, a 35-year-old former Microsoft employee new to politics.

Note: Image is of Bellevue, WA.