Today, Democrats and Republicans are vying for control of the House and Senate as both houses in Congress are a few seats off from leadership.

Gary Copeland, director of the Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma, said the outcome of the race could determine more than just party control.

"If it is a split Senate, you'll see a lot of pressure for people to switch parties," Copeland said.

Traditionally, the president's opposing party gains seats and possibly control in one or both houses of Congress. However, before assuming a Democrat victory, Copeland said not to count on tradition anymore.

"I'm not sure that's the right generalization anymore," Copeland said. Since 1982, when President Ronald Reagan actively campaigned to win seats across the country, Copeland said the assumption of the president losing ground in mid-term elections is disappearing.

"1982 was the first time when Republicans made an effort to counter that trend," he said.

Less than 48 hours before the mid-term elections, late surveys dashed Democratic hopes for a last-minute surge. The country remained evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. At least seven Senate races remained too close to call, and the House of Representatives remained likely to stay Republican.

Polls showed late movements in some campaigns, but they were scattered and signaled no national trend for either party.

A new Pew Research Center poll showed the country still split, with 46 percent of likely voters saying they planned to vote Democratic for Congress and 44 percent saying they planned to vote Republican. That was essentially unchanged from a month earlier.

Absent a stronger wind at their back, Democrats faced a difficult challenge in trying to overcome a six-seat deficit in the House. They must sweep as many as 14 House contests that are considered tossups and also win back two districts that are leaning Republican.

"There's been no movement. There's been no surge for either party," said Andy Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan research group that conducted the national poll. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

"The popular vote is going to be quite close. No matter who is in control of Congress, it's going to be evenly divided."

Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, the House Democratic Leader, remained outwardly confident.

"I'm very optimistic that we're going to pick up seats in the Senate and we're going to win back the House next Tuesday," he said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" program.

But Republicans, led by President Bush, appeared increasingly confident Sunday that they could defy history by keeping losses to a minimum or even gaining House seats. The last president whose party won House seats in his first mid-term election was Franklin Roosevelt in 1934. Since then, every one of 10 presidents has seen his party lose seats in his first mid-term election, 27 on average.

"That we're not getting creamed right now might be a referendum on how the country feels about George Bush," said Bush adviser Mary Matalin on CNN's "Late Edition" program. Bush's popularity stood sky-high at 72 percent in a Pew poll released last week.

Anxious to help his own Republican Party, Bush barnstormed Sunday through the Midwest.

"Do whatever it takes, get on the phone, grab your neighbor. Do whatever it takes to get people to the polls," he urged Republicans in Springfield, Ill.

Oklahoma has had their fare share of top political visits. In September, Bush arrived to campaign for GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Largent. Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to Rose State College in October for Republican Tom Cole for the 4th District House race. U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., also arrived in Norman last week for Cole and Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., ranking Democrat of the House Armed Services Committee, campaigned Sunday for Democrat Darryl Roberts.

"It's competitive for a change," Copeland said of the 4th District race. Cole and Roberts have since taken the challenge to win the election.

"This seat may, in the end, determine the control of the House of Representatives," Copeland said. Currently, the House stands at 223 Republicans, 208 Democrats, three vacancies and one independent. Fourteen of those seats are now open because of redistricting.

-- KRT contributed to this story
hello there & you too