Janet Hook is the congressional correspondent for the Los Angeles Times' Washington D.C. bureau. Hook began her journalism career in 1978 as the assistant editor for The Public Interest. In 1983 she began work for the Congressional Quarterly as senior writer. (Read Janet Hook's bio)

Q: Do you see the same kind of negativity in the Congressional campaigns as we see in the presidential one?

President Bush and John Kerry have not cornered the market on mudslinging and scare tactics in campaigning. Many of the competitive congressional campaigns this year are also awash in negativism.

One standout is House race in north Dallas, which pits two incumbents against each other - Democratic Rep. Martin Frost and Republican Rep. Pete Sessions - as a result of Republicans' successful drive to redraw House district lines last year. The race is extremely close - and very nasty and personal. Frost has run a fearful ad showing the World Trade Center burning, which accuses Sessions of undercutting post-9/11 air safety. Sessions has accused Frost of tax evasion and more. They have even accused each other of dirty tricks with each other's yard signs.

In the Oklahoma Senate race, Republican candidate Tom Coburn -- who is a physician and former House member -- was dealt a big setback when someone dug up an old lawsuit that accused him of sterilizing a woman against her will-a charge he denies.

In the Florida Senate race, during the GOP primary Mel Martinez accused one of his Republican rivals of being "the new darling of homosexual extremists," - just because he supported anti-hate crimes legislation.

In Washington state's Senate race, GOP Rep. George Nethercutt has run an ad accusing Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of being soft on Osama bin Laden.

Q: What impact is the latest round of redistricting going to have on this year's Congressional races?

For most states, the last round of redistricting took place after the 2000 Census; those district lines were in place for the 2002 elections, and had the effect of making all but a handful of House seats safe for the incumbent. Those same lines will be in effect in 2004 -- except in Texas. There, the legislature redrew House lines in 2003 to make them more favorable to Republicans.

It was very unusual and controversial move to redistirct for a second time in a decade. Spearheaded by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the new map gives Republicans a chance to pick up several new seats and puts five incumbent House Democrats at risk. The Texas remap is crucial to Republicans' national strategy. They expect to pick up enough new seats in Texas to offset any seats they might lose elsewhere in the country, which means they are almost guaranteed to keep their majority in the House.

Q: What are the Senate races that you think voters should watch which you didn't get to mention during Friday's Washington Week?

Other interesting Senate contests include the one in Colorado, a reliably conservative, pro-Bush state where a surprisingly competitive race is being fought. The Senate seat is open because Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell decided to retire rather than run for reelection this year. The Republican candidate in this tight race is beer magnate Pete Coors, a political novice. The Democratic candidate Attorney General Ken Salazar, a popular Latino figure who is well known statewide. He has the political advantage of coming from a rural part of the state, where Democrats traditionally have had a harder time garnering support.

Another interesting race is in South Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Ernest Hollings is retiring. The state is very pro-Bush and conservative, so Republican candidate Rep. Jim DeMint has been favored to win. But Inez Tenenbaum, the Democratic state superintendent of education, has running a stronger race than expected. She has made a big issue out of DeMint's support for replacing the income tax system with a national sales tax - a change she charges would hurt middle class families more than the wealthy.

Q: We're in the final stretch before election day. Is it too late for the campaigns to persuade undecided voters? Will the strategists turn their attention to getting out the base? How does the proliferation of early voting affect the campaigns' appraches as they make this pivot?

It is getting pretty late for campaigns to persuade undecided voters, but strategists are divided on what the best end-game strategy is. President Bush seems to be focusing more on energizing and mobilizing his core conservative supporters - by, for example, focusing on issues like abortion and gay marriage. John Kerry seems to be trying to reach out to undecided voters in the center - by speaking more of his religious faith and trying to play up his image as a sportsman who is comfortable with guns. The importance of the final days of the campaign is limited by the fact that so many voters exercise the option to vote early. But the situation gives candidates another opportunity: They can try to maximize turnout among their supporters by encouraging them to vote early and helping get them to the polls.