WASHINGTON While most of the focus during this falls political campaign has been on the presidential race, the battle over Congressional supremacy hasnt received the attention it properly deserves.

Virtually all political observers from both parties -- believe the Democrats will retain control of Congress. The only major open question is the margin by which the Dems will widen their control.

Currently, the Democrats hold a comfortable majority in the House that is expected to grow, but the more important issue is what happens in the U.S. Senate where the Dems currently have a razor slim majority.

Two or three months ago, it seemed likely the Republicans would lose a dozen to a dozen and a half seats in the House. Now, many political analysts say the Republicans are on track to lose at least 20 or more House seats.

Still, few think the Democrats will pick up enough seats to reach 267, the number needed to override a presidential veto.

Retirements are the No. 1 reason there are many more competitive races in the House this year than in a normal campaign. Twenty-nine Republican congressmen and women are retiring at the end of the year, plus seven Democrats.

Additionally, the Dems amassed a huge war chest for House races this year: $56 million versus $14 million for the Republicans.

In the Senate, the Republicans could lose at least a half-dozen, perhaps as many as eight or nine, seats.

The two biggest factors in whether Democrats reach the theoretical 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate, at least on party-line votes, is whether you start off with an assumption of them having 50, that is, not counting Sen. Joe Lieberman, or 51, with the Connecticut independent in the count; and whether Alaskan Republican incumbent Ted Stevens is acquitted or convicted in his trial for not reporting personal gifts.

Theres a general assumption that if convicted, Stevens is likely to lose his re-election bid, if acquitted, he more likely wins.

How significant will this election be from a Congressional perspective?

It's fairly normal for a party to suffer a train wreck election from time to time, but it's rare to have them in back-to-back elections. Indeed, only twice in the last 80 years has a party suffered significant, double-digit congressional losses in back-to-back elections.

It happened to the Republicans in 1930 and 1932, and the Democrats in 1950 and 1952.

Having lost 30 House and six Senate seats in 2006, not counting the three special congressional election losses earlier this year, Republicans now look to be on track to lose 20 or more in the House and upwards of a half-dozen in the Senate.

Should the Democrats win the White House and capture 60 seats in the Senate, motorcoach companies can expect to see a slew of legislation and regulations that potentially will complicate their businesses significantly.

And thats probably an understatement.