Old Forge, NY, Sep 21, 2010 — Exactly six weeks remain until election day. Here in northern New York, Republicans are pushing hard to unseat three sitting Democrats, congressmen Mike Arcuri, Scott Murphy, and Bill Owens. These races could help decide which party holds a majority in the House of Representatives.

But new polls published over the last few days by the Siena Research Institute show that in two of these races the Republican candidates are struggling to catch up.

Brian Mann spoke in-depth with Siena pollster Steven Greenberg, who says Republicans Chris Gibson and Richard Hanna need to lock down the loyalty of GOP voters. "It is key for both of the Republican candidates...to bring the base back home," Greenberg says.

He calls the 24th district House race "incredibly competitive," but says the 20th district race will be more of a struggle for Gibson. "I think the 20th definitely has the potential to be a competitive race," he adds.