'World News' Political Insights -- Outspent Democrats Blast Campaign Rules

US President Barack Obama speaks at a rally at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland on October...

US President Barack Obama speaks at a rally at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland on October 7, 2010, for incumbent Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Outspent and quite possibly outflanked on the money front, Democrats are closing out the campaign for control of Congress with the political equivalent of working the refs.

(JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Democrats who have fretted over a map that has seemed to expand all year are now able to focus on a narrower set of races, at least when it comes to the Senate.

According to ABC's political unit, Republicans go into the campaign's final stretch with advantages in five races for seats now held by Democrats: North Dakota, Arkansas, Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

That leaves eight races that appear likely to determine control of the Senate: Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, West Virginia, Connecticut, Washington, California and Delaware.

Republicans will need to win five of those states to take control of the Senate; they need a cleaner sweep if they lose the toss-up states where Republicans are now in control, in Kentucky and Missouri.

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That's a difficult proposition, particularly as GOP chances have faded a bit in Delaware, Connecticut and California.

And Democrats are concentrating their base-rallying efforts on retaining seats now under their control.

First lady Michelle Obama makes her midterm campaign debut this week with visits to Wisconsin, Illinois and Colorado, and the president himself held a rally in Pennsylvania today, just days after a campaign swing into his home state of Illinois.

As for the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's optimism notwithstanding, Republicans remain in a strong position to take back control. The GOP needs to pick up 39 seats to win control, and almost all of the seats that are in serious contention on the ballot next month are currently held by Democrats.