It's good to see Democrats in tight races for the House closing the gap -- it's not just a Bachmann phenomenon:

Every election cycle, a handful of races not taken very seriously early on become truly competitive contests, and this year is no exception.

Every candidate, of course, has a scenario. But most of those scenarios -- and most of those candidates -- evaporate well before October.

In the case of the candidates below, their scenarios are now supported by both polling and successful fundraising. Given the national political environment, it isn't surprising that most of the late surprises are in Republican-held seats.

-----------------------

Late-breaking House races shift political playing field

• Story Highlights
• Most of the late surprises in House races are in Republican-held seats
  
• Districts in Iowa, South Carolina, Minnesota, Arizona among closely watched races
  
• GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann's remarks on Sen. Barack Obama unleash firestorm
  
• Sen. John McCain doesn't appear to be giving a lift to Republicans in his home state

By Stuart Rothenberg
CNNPolitics.com contributor

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/23/rothenberg.house.races/