The Oval: Tracking the Obama presidency

Just a month to go: Democratic, GOP officials predict election success

The leaders of the Republican and Democratic Senate campaign committees predicted success for their parties today, less than a month before pivotal congressional elections.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said on CNN's State of the Union that this will be "a wave election" and a "tsunami" that will wash away Democrats who have spent too much money and not done enough on jobs.

"I don't know how high or how wide that tsunami will be, but I think it will be significant," Cornyn said. He also said the voters want to "provide checks and balances" on President Obama and Democratic congressional majorities.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said his party may lose some seats, but will retain its majority because voters are coming to realize that the GOP is for the special interests, while Democrats favor the middle class.

"The middle class understands who got us into this economic mess, the Republicans and the eight years of the (George W.) Bush economic policies," Menendez said, adding that Republicans have put up too many out-of-the-mainstream candidates. Menendez also called this a "volatile cycle" that is shifting back to his party.

Fox News Sunday, meanwhile, zeroed in on the Senate race in Kentucky with a debate between the Tea Party-backed Republican Rand Paul and Democrat Jack Conway.

(Posted by David Jackson)