Except at the White House and the top reaches of the Republican National Committee, I can hardly find a single politician, consultant or pollster, Democratic or Republican, who thinks the GOP can retain control of the House.

And even at the White House, the messages are mixed. Strategist-in-chief Karl Rove is proclaiming that Republicans will pull out a victory. On the other hand, one aide also told me that the chances of Republicans retaining narrow control is in the 40 percent to 45 percent range – that is, less than a 50-50 shot – while Democrats’ chances of winning either narrowly or with a bigger margin are greater.

Republicans are more optimistic about the Senate, where they think retaining contested seats in Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia will leave them with a 51-seat majority, assuming they lose in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, and fail to pick up New Jersey.

GOP officials hotly deny reports that they are pulling money out of Sen. Mike DeWine’s (R) desperate bid to survive a catastrophic political climate in Ohio, but in recent polls he trails Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) by double digits.

Republican consultants I’ve talked to say they expect House losses to range anywhere from 20 seats – five more than Democrats need to take over – up to 30 or more.