As the House prepares today to vote to override President Bush's veto of a water development bill, an effort that looks likely to succeed, Democrats are hoping to put more pressure on the GOP over the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which appears headed for a second presidential veto.

In a letter circulated to colleagues yesterday and obtained by Roll Call's David Drucker, DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen suggested the issue has cost incumbent Republicans Joe Knollenberg (MI-09), Kenny Hulshof (MO-09) and Thelma Drake (VA-02) significant support.

Knollenberg, according to a poll conducted for the DCCC by Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, dropped 5 points between an April benchmark and a 10/30-11/2 poll. Knollenberg now leads his probable opponent, Michigan Lottery Commissioner Gary Peters, by a slim 42%-35% margin.

Van Hollen cited similar drops in support for Hulshof and Drake, though he did not release specific poll numbers. Republicans reacted angrily, saying the polls proved Democrats were trying to politicize children's health care. Several top Republicans suggest the party will try to change the conversation on SCHIP from one focusing on health care to one focusing on runaway federal spending.

Still, the Democratic polls show the GOP still has work to do. The polls included an informed ballot question on SCHIP, which, in Knollenberg's case turned his seven-point lead into a seven-point deficit. Knollenberg's campaign manager dismissed the poll question as misleading, but that may not be enough to save some in the GOP. Given a significant cash advantage over the NRCC, the DCCC can afford to pay for ads hitting the other party on any issue they wish. Hulshof's district, for example, has been a prime target despite voting overwhelmingly for President Bush in 2004 and being left off both parties' target lists in recent years.