Now that the Republicans have lost the House, it will not be so easy to get it back. Incumbents are very powerful. In 2004, Melissa Beam beat the very tired Phil Crane in the Illinois 8th District in somewhat of an upset. She never even moved into the district, but proved to be a formidable person who won reelection with 55% of the vote to a highly qualified candidate David McSweeney. She cruised to reelection in a Republican district. The Democrats will have their allies in the Media on their side as well. It will be an uphill battle until the 2010 census.
I had a long discussion with Phil Crane back in the 80's in a bar in Denver, CO. We discussed IRAs for non-working spouses and Social Security. My congresscritter Hobson told me once he wasn't surprised that I ran into Phil in a bar.