Vulnerabilities emblematic of GOP's nationwide woes

Vulnerabilities emblematic of GOP's nationwide woes - USATODAY.com:

"The conservative Midwestern state of Indiana is an unlikely battlefield in the Republicans' larger war, and the irony is that Republican Senator Richard Lugar is running for a sixth six-year term without Democratic opposition. Even that troubles some Republican strategists, who say a more active race at the top of the ticket would help Congressman Chris Chocola, who is in re-election trouble, as well as Congressmen Mike Sodrel and John Hostettler.

Like other endangered incumbents, Chocola has had difficult races in the past, and he's even run — and won — against Democratic challenger Joe Donnelly before. In a nearby Indiana district, Sodrel and Democratic former Congressman Baron Hill are rivals for the third straight campaign in a district so divided that each man has won once.

Of the three Republicans, Hostettler has trailed by a significant margin in the polls for weeks and appears likely to lose. The district that Sodrel represents is virtually guaranteed to be close because of its makeup."