Steele: It will be 'tougher' for GOP to claim Senate

WASHINGTON - Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he expects his party will win the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm election while having difficulty taking control of the Senate.

An "unprecedented wave on Election Day" will take the House for the Republicans, he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "The Senate's a little bit tougher."

Steele said the RNC has raised $175 million in this election cycle, as voters are showing dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama's policies. Steele challenged Obama's accusations that Republicans have been unwilling to work with him on health care and environmental issues. Rather, Democrats have "summarily rejected" Republican positions, Steele said.

Campaigning across the country before the Nov. 2 elections, Obama is accusing Republicans of threatening to roll back his policies.

Nonpartisan political analysts, including Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report in Washington, project that Democrats are likely to lose several seats in the Senate and cede control of the House to Republicans.

Pat Toomey, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, echoed Steele, acknowledging it would be difficult to control the Senate. Still, Toomey said on "Fox News Sunday" that he is optimistic his party will win enough seats to take over the chamber.

Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said "it's going to be close" for the Democrats to hold onto the House.

The former Virginia governor said he has seen his party pick up momentum, and that Democrats have been "getting out of the canyon." Voters have shifted to the Democrats as they evaluate the Obama administration's accomplishments of the past two years, he said on ABC's "This Week" program.

"Four or five months ago, the Republicans thought they had a great chance at taking both houses, but for a variety of reasons the Senate has gotten much more difficult for them," Kaine said.