Republicans Have Eyes on House Seats in Northeast in Midterm Races

Republican candidates are showing surprising financial strength in Congressional districts held by Democrats in the Northeast that party leaders have singled out as ripe for what could be critical gains in the November election.

Some of the most competitive races are taking shape in the New York metropolitan region.

In the 19th Congressional District, north of New York, the Republican challenger, Nan Hayworth, an ophthalmologist, has amassed about $519,000, slightly more than the roughly $451,000 that the Democratic incumbent, Representative John J. Hall, has in his campaign coffers.

On eastern Long Island, the Republican candidate, Randy Altschuler, a businessman, is closing the gap with the Democratic incumbent, Representative Timothy H. Bishop, stockpiling nearly $800,000, compared with the roughly $1 million Mr. Bishop has, even though Mr. Altschuler has already embarked on an advertising campaign.

The promising financial picture for individual Republican candidates suggests that the midterm elections in the Northeast, a Democratic stronghold, may turn out to be far more competitive than expected, forcing Democrats to play defense on what is essentially their home turf.

Independent analysts say there are a dozen Democratic-held districts in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire where the incumbents could face strong challenges , and in many of those districts Republican candidates have amassed sizable sums of money.

The financial strength of these Republican candidates compounds the growing vulnerability of Democrats, who have been weakened by the partisan battle over health care reform, an issue that President Obama has made a centerpiece of his agenda even as economic concerns continue to weigh heavily on many voters. The developments in the Northeast are welcome news to national Republican leaders in Washington at a time when House Republicans’ Campaign Committee is confronting an enormous fund-raising gap with its Democratic counterpart.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $16.6 million on hand at the end of last year, dwarfing the $2.6 million that the National Republican Congressional Committee had in its account, according to the most recent campaign-finance disclosure statement.

“If Democrats have to spend money protecting seats in a place like the Northeast, they’ll have less money to spend in other parts of the country,” said one senior Republican official who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss internal party strategy. “That could make a big difference around the country.”

The Northeast has been politically inhospitable in recent elections to Republicans, who have had a hard time mounting viable campaigns. Since 2006, Republicans have lost 16 seats in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but as the political mood sours for incumbents, Republicans hope to score victories in Democratic-held districts with large numbers of Republican and independent voters.

Republicans still face a number of serious challenges in many of the Northeast districts they are concentrating on, including the possibility of primary battles that could drain their candidates of large sums of money. But the cash available to some of the party’s candidates potentially alters the dynamics of individual races.

In the Seventh Congressional District outside Philadelphia, where the Democratic incumbent is running for Senate, the candidate supported by the Democratic Party, Bryan Lentz, a member of the State Legislature, has about $460,000, compared with the nearly $700,000 amassed by Patrick Meehan, a local prosecutor and the leading Republican candidate for the seat.

In the Utica area, Representative Michael A. Arcuri, a Democrat, has about $415,000, even as Richard Hanna, a wealthy construction executive, entered the race telling Republican leaders in Washington that he was prepared to spend significant amounts of his own money. In 2008, he invested $1 million seeking to unseat Mr. Arcuri.

Still, many Democratic incumbents whom the Republicans are singling out in the region have moved quickly to fortify their campaign war chests, sometimes doubling and even tripling the amount of money of their Republican rivals have on hand.

On Staten Island, Representative Michael E. McMahon, a freshman Democrat in a conservative-leaning district, has about $1 million, far more than either of the Republicans in the race. Michael Allegretti, a lobbyist for an environmental firm, has roughly $235,000, and Michael Grimm, a retired F.B.I. agent, has about $298,000.

In New York’s Southern Tier, Representative Eric Massa, a first-term Democrat, has amassed about $645,000, compared with roughly $122,000 for the Republican candidate, Tom Reed, the mayor of Corning.

Tory Mazzola, a spokesman for the House Republicans’ committee, said many of the party’s candidates in the region were in a strong position to finance campaigns that tap into voter concerns over issues like the large amount of federal spending under Democratic rule in Washington.

But Shripal Shah, a spokesman for the House Democrats’ campaign committee, said he believed the Republican financial strength was overstated. “For every Republican candidate that’s trying to show strong fund-raising prowess, there are countless more who have failed miserably when it comes to raising money they need for their campaigns,” he said.

Still, Democrats are bracing for tough races next year in part because of the economy, but also because the midterm election is historically tough on the president’s party. The concerns of Democrats have deepened since Republicans picked up the Massachusetts Senate seat long held by Edward M. Kennedy.

In a sign of how aggressively Republicans intend to contest seats in the Northeast, Mr. Altschuler, the Republican candidate on Long Island, has already begun running television advertisements attacking Mr. Bishop.

In other districts, however, Democratic incumbents appear to have amassed enough cash to ward off any major challengers — so far, anyway.

In Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes Fairfield County, Representative Jim Himes, a Democratic freshman, has stockpiled nearly $1.3 million, a sum that even Republicans agree is impressive.

While a handful of relatively unknown Republicans are seeking the party’s nomination to challenge Mr. Himes, Republican leaders have had little success in their effort to recruit a candidate with the kind of name recognition or fund-raising ability needed to mount a credible challenge to Mr. Himes.

Republicans are hopeful that they can avoid a similar fate in New Jersey’s Third Congressional District, where Representative John H. Adler, another first-term Democrat, has stockpiled nearly $1.4 million.

Republican Party leaders say they expect Jon Runyan, a former star player for the Philadelphia Eagles, to officially enter the race against Mr. Adler in a district that includes some of the suburbs of Philadelphia. Republican strategists in Washington say he has indicated that he is willing to spend some of his own money on the race.