Democrats and GOP Predict Election Wins

WASHINGTON--While Democrats claimed the trend was their way, Republicans predicted yesterday that the GOP's off your election strategy will succeed Tuesday in keeping Congress on President Reagan's course.

Democratic campaign advertisements, said Reagan's course is a curse for the nation's 11 million unemployed and a blind alley for the economy. But republican spokesmen, including Reagan's himself, urges patience.

The off-year balloting will award 33 seats in the Republican Senate and all 435 in the Democratic. House, Thirty-six states are electing governors--and the Democrats are looking for a significant gain Legislators are being chosen in 46 states.

Reagan drummed his economic theme in a campaign commercial televised nationally and repeated in 60 major cities through the weekend to election eve. He said he has charted the way out of the recession, and all the Democrats offer is old, big-government solutions that will not work.

"I am counting on you to cast your votes for hope, not despair--for responsible men and women who are pledged in help us, not hinder us on the road to recovery," he said.

Television interview programs were the forum for yesterday's political predictions.

"I think the Democrats probably are going to win a significant victory," said Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.. interviewed on ABC-TV" ...I think in the end we're going to see a break toward the Democrats."

Caddell forecast a gain of 25 to 30 seats in the House, where there are now 242 Democrats and 191 Republicans.

But Richard Wirthlin, who does his polling for Republican candidates and the White House, said he saw no sign of a late Democratic surge. He said the Republicans probably will lose 20 to 24 House seats, hold control in the Senate, and drop a half-dozen governor-ships to the Democrats.

The While House party almost invariably loses seats in Congress in off-year elections. Since world War II, the average loss in the first mid-term balloting of a newly-elected president has been 19 House seats.

Republicans now control the Senate Cuddell said there are enough closely contested. Senate races to put control within the pollsters margin of error.

In a CBS-TV interview, Sen. Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), chairman of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, said the Republicans had backed off early season optimism and are "holding on by their fingertips" to the Senate they won two years ago.

But Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kans.) said the GOP would break better than even in Tuesday's Senate elections. "I think we're going to retain our strength in the Senate and probably pick up a couple of seats," he said.

Former Democratic National Chairman Robert Strauss said on ABC that Democrats would gain at least 22 to 24 House seats, and would "come awfully close" to overturning the Republican margin in the Senate.

Lyn Nofziger, former political aide to Reagan, said he looked for the Democrats to gain 20 to 25 seats in the House.