it will come down to dozens of critical contests that could go either way. in the house, the republicans need a net gain of 39 seats to take control away from the democrats and make john boehner the presumptive speaker. in the senate, it's much more of a long shot for the g.o.p. the republicans would have to hold on to what they have and pick up ten seats now held by democrats. we have our cbs news election team at key locations around the country and here at election headquarters, of course, first, congressional correspondent nancy cordes on candidates making their closing arguments. >> from confetti drops to diner stops. big rallies and bus tours. candidates for the house, senate, and 37 governorships are making their final case to the voters. republicans growing ever more confident that they will clinch the 39 extra seats they need to retake control of the house. >> if we're lucky enough to be in the majority and i'm lucky enough to be the speaker of the house... ( cheers and applause ) it's going to be real different. >> reporter: and luck is on john boehner's side according to the latest gallup poll where 55% of likely voters say they're voting republican tomorrow compared to just 40% voting democratic. an unprecedented 15-point advantage for the g.o.p. >> how does that translate into specific votes when people get into the polls we'll find out. but 55, 60, 65 seats, even 70 doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility. >> reporter: for the republicans? >> for the republicans. s reporter: the last time a party won that many seats was 1948 when democrats picked up 75. in the last republican wave in 1994 the party picked up 52 seats >> i'm joining a lot of volunteers down here at our headquarters. >> reporter: democrats hope their robust get out the vote effort will make the difference in tight races. especially senate races in illinois, pennsylvania, and california. >> the positive change that we know is on the way. maybe it hasn't come to the degree we want it to come. but it is coming. >> reporter: in fact, the democrats are even e-mailing their supporters asking them what time they plan to vote tomorrow. the thinking being if the voters put it in their schedule they'll follow through with it, katie. >> couric: nancy cordes. nancy, thanks so much. president obama is not on the ballot this year, of course, but he has been the campaigner in chief for the democrats. chip reid is at the white house tonight. chip, the polls are indicating a very good year for the republicans but the president is trying to keep it from being a very, very good year. >> reporter: well, katie, the most the president can hope for is to minimize the damage in this election, so he's doing everything he can to try to rally the dispirited democratic base. especially young and minority voters. he spent the weekend holding rallies at university campuses in philadelphia, chicago, and cleveland and today he did a series of interviews in the oval office with urban radio stations: >> reporter: in one interview today, the president backed off a controversial statement he made recently which he referred to critics of immigration reform as enemies. he said he should have called them opponents. katie? >> couric: chip reid at the white house. chip, thank you. the highest profile senate race involves nevada's harry reid, the democratic majority leader. his party may well hold on to power, but it may be without him. national correspondent ben tracy is in las vegas tonight and, ben, this race is also extremely close. >> reporter: about as close as it gets, katie. the latest polls show sharron angle is up anywhere from one to four points over harry reid, and that's within the margin of error. so today harry reid brought in one of the democrat's most popular campaigners. >> we love harry reid! >> reporter: first lady michelle obama stumped here for senator reid in las vegas yet sharron angle does still seem to have the momentum in this race. so far in early voting, republicans are turning out to the polls in greater numbers than they normally do here in nevada. and this continues to be just a really nasty race. sharron angle calls harry reid an out-of-touch elitist and he calls her extreme and crazy. now, of course, at this point this race all comes down to turnout and harry reid does have a well-oiled get out the vote operation here in nevada. if there is some good news for him tonight on this election eve, it's that the foremost political journalist here in nevada is saying that he believes harry reid will somehow pull this out tomorrow. katie? >> couric: ben tracy in las vegas. ben, thank you. ohio is often the scene... a snapshot, rather, of the entire country and a bell weather in elections. national correspondent dean reynolds is in cincinnati tonight and, dean, no one will be watching what happens in the buckeye state more closely than the president himself. >> reporter: indeed, katie. there is no state more important to president barack president obama's midterm election strategy and his reelection hopes in 2012 than ohio. mr. obama won the state in 2008 and has visited 12 times since taking office. the latest yesterday stumping for democrats. but the latest poll today suggests his efforts may fall short and that a republican wave may defeat democratic governor ted strickland and a host of other democratic hopefuls and if that happens here and elsewhere, the man attending this rally tonight-- representative john boehner of ohio-- will be the next speaker of the house. katie? >> couric: dean reynolds, thank you. one of the stranger senate race this is year is in the state of alaska. it's two republicans against a democrat. and john blackstone in anchorage reports this battle could go well past election day. >> reporter: the battle for alaska's senate seat began in earnest when tea party backed republican joe miller defeated incumbent lisa murkowski in the primary. she launched an ambitious write- in campaign. now democrats see some chance their candidate, scott mcadams, could benefit from the republican split. >> this state isn't as hard and fast republican as you might think. >> reporter: ads by supporters of both republicans are now targeting mcadams. >> he's not electable. >> alaska can't afford scott mcadams. >> reporter: suggesting they've started seeing him as a threat. if the race here is as close as many expect, not only do they have the count the write-in ballots but they have to wait two weeks for absentee ballots to trickle in from across the state. the last frontier could be the last place to declare a winner. katie? >> couric: very interesting race going on in alaska. john blackstone, thank you. this may be remembered as the election in which twitter and other social media really came of age. so what's everyone tweeting about? here's tonight's campaign 2010 hot sheet. this graph appearing on the "new york times" web site tracks tweets about individual candidates. kentucky's rand paul and other tea party candidates such as alaska's joe miller and delaware's christine o'donnell have seen a surge of interest in the past few days. but o'donnell hasn't abandoned traditional media. >> i'm officially asking for your vote. >> couric: her campaign put together a 24-minute infomercial to air on public access t.v. in delaware. >> i want to go to washington and do what you would do. >> couric: unfortunately for her, the ad didn't air the first two times it was scheduled. according to o'donnell, the station forgot to run it. but the producer who booked the time said her campaign delivered the video too late. not to be outdone... >> of all the scary things you'll see today. >> couric: o'donnell's opponent, democrat chris coons, put together a spooky ad for halloween. >> don't let this nightmare become delaware's reality. happy halloween. >> couric: bob schieffer is our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." jeff greenfield our senior political correspondent. bob, let's start with you. we're hearing about massive gains in the house, big gains in the senate as well. but i guess the question now is how big? >> well, i think we may be looking at a blowout here, katie. i called around today and i talked to one republican, one top republican who said "i'm not going to predict we're going to take 70 seats in the house but i wouldn't be surprised if we take 70." now you don't hear politicians make those kind of predictions even when you promise not to use their names. i thought that was very, very significant. >> couric: what about the senate, bob? >> well, i think the only good news that i can find for democrats right now, what they're saying is that they think they will lose a lot of seats in the senate but they won't lose their majority. they'll hang on by one or two. so that's about the only good news i can find coming from democrats tonight. >> couric: meanwhile, jeff, what a difference two years make. two years ago everyone was saying the republican party was on life support, it may be a generation before it was resuscitated. what happened? >> nothing like really terrible economic news for a year and a half to change the reality. this economy and the sense that things are get nothing better has hammered that obama coalition. women are moving towards the republican party. independents that broke big for obama and the democrats seem to be breaking big for the republicans and unlike, say, the great depression when people could look around and see visible signs of change, the hoover dam, the empire state building, people building... planting trees in the civilian conservation corps, financial reform and a stimulus, it's a very untangible thing and i think people looked around and said "who's in charge? we want to get the people in out" and the democrats look like they're going take a real smacking. >> couric: you think about it, bob, unemployment has been over 9% for something like 17 months. >> it was 7.7 when the president came into office, he said he was going to fix that and it went up. there's nothing like a bad economy to pose a danger to incumbents and that's what's going to happen. >> couric: do you think the get out the vote effort by the democrats, they've got a mechanism in place, will make up for any of these losses or it's just too little. >> it may help but i'm afraid this may be too little too late. >> couric: bob schieffer, jeff greenfield, gentlemen, thank you as always. cbs news will bring you campaign 2010 updates throughout election night and an hour-long wrap-up and analysis at 10:00 eastern time and another at 1:00 a.m. eastern 10:00 o'clock pacific. still ahead on the "cbs evening news," the envelope please. the campaign's biggest online moments. but up next, new details about the plot to blow up cargo planes. and the suspected bomber behind it. to my grandkids, i'm nana. i'm friend, secret-keeper and playmate. do you think i'd let osteoporosis slow me down? 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[ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief for all-over achy colds. the official cold medicine of the u.s. ski team. alka-seltzer plus. >> couric: security has been tight at airports around for globe following that terror plot to blow up cargo planes. it was a close call stopped by some last-minute intelligence. tonight, homeland security correspondent bob orr reports on who may have tipped off the authorities and who is suspected of building the bombs. >> reporter: investigators have found no fingerprints or d.n.a. on the two bombs hidden inside printers but the devices themselves clearly point to the yemen-based terror group al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. and its master bomb builder ibrahim hassan al asiri. asiri, shown here with his fist blurred built the underwear bomb used in the failed christmas day attack and the printer bombs bear the hall mashes of his handiwork. the explosive p.e.t.n. was hidden inside toner cartridge. the devices apparently wired with timers were expertly concealed. in fact, the printer bomb found in great britain was so well disguised at first explosives experts failed to recognize it as a bomb. >> the sophistication of these suggests that the bomb makers are getting more and more creative, they're trying to hide the devices in common everyday products. >> reporter: yemeni officials say the bombs were found after a tip from a former guantanamo detainee and al qaeda militant who recently surrendered to the saudis but u.s. officials doubt he's the only source. the tip was very specific and included shipping numbers, details he would haven't known since he was in custody when the bombs were mailed. while officials caution others may still be out there, there's an increasing confidence now the main threat has been stopped. >> we have no information to suggest that another attack of a similar nature by al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is imminent. >> reporter: but officials are especially alarmed that one of the bombs apparently spent some time on passenger planes, twice escaping detection. qatar air ways says it shipped one of the passages on jets from yemen to doha and then to dubai. now t.s.a. is sending security experts to yemen to bolster the screening of packages. >> we've ordered a ground stop of all packages coming from yemen to the u.s. until additional scrutiny and screening to be applied. >> reporter: now, the bombs were fully capable of exploding aboard the airplanes and officials believe they were the most likely targets. aircraft bombings are very high on the terrorist wish lists. katie? >> couric: bob, we know some of these packages were addressed to two different synagogues in chicago but now authorities believe they, in fact, were not the target? >> reporter: i think that's right. the two bombs found in dubai and in great britain were addressed to two synagogues in chicago. they had bonus names on the packages, they did have correct addresses but the source i've talked to say there's nothing in the intelligence chain that suggests the synagogues were the targets, just vehicles to get the packages into the system and now officials belief the airplanes themselves were the most likely targets katie. >> couric: bob orr in washington, bob, as always, thank you. iraq's government today defended its decision to storm a crowded christian church after it was seized by islamic militants. iraqi officials say security forces were only sent in when the militants began killing hostages. by the time it was all over, at least 58 people were dead and 67 wounded. most of them church members. and coming up next, the man behind so many of j.f.k.'s words. a profile of the late ted sorensen. an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. with new bayer am. want to transform dinner from blah to oh la la? cook with campbell's. with touches like a splash of fresh cream or sauterne wine. our soups help you put smiles on the faces of the ones you love. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ ♪ an accidental touch can turn ordinary into something more. moments can change anytime -- just like that. and when they do men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven, low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications, and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com. i'm among 30,000 employees for a 30-tablet free trial offer, who used to work for hp. i was supposed to retire there. carly fiorina changed all that. fiorina laid off 30,000 people and she shipped our jobs to china and india. i had to pack my bags and i was out the door that night. we even had to train our replacements. she didn't need 5 corporate jets. one hundred million for herself. fiorina never cared about our jobs. not then and not now. i'm barbara boxer and i approve this message. >> couric: it was 50 years ago this month that john f. kennedy was elected president. one of his closest advisors, ted sorensen, died yesterday. richard schlesinger reports that as kennedy's head speech writer, sorensen wrote some of the most memorable words in presidential history. >> ask not what your country can do for you... >> reporter: it is safe to say that nearly every american alive today knows theodore sorensen's work. >> ... ask what you can do for your country. >> reporter: he was j.f.k.'s favorite speech writer and helped introduce the president to the nation. sorensen had been writing for him since kennedy was a freshman senator and sorensen was a 24- year-old fresh from his hometown of lincoln, nebraska. >> working with this one man for 11 years merged our two styles. i knew what he wanted to say, i knew how he wanted to say it. >> reporter: sorensen helped write kennedy's pulitzer prize winning book "profiles in courage." for years, scholars speculated he was the main author. he always sidestepped the question. >> it's no great secret that your intellect, your words, were integral part of the book. >> well, i've tried to keep it a secret. >> reporter: but sorensen was much more than a writer. j.f.k. called him "my intellectual blood bank." sorensen was at the president's side everyday, including 13 of the most dangerous days in human history: the cuban missile crisis. >> a series of offensive missile sites... >> frankly, during those 13 days i was too busy to be scared. >> reporter: as nuclear war between the u.s. and the soviet union drew closer, sorensen crafted a letter from j.f.k. to soviet leader nikita kruschev that diffused the crisis. >> i knew that any mistakes in my letter could result in the end of america or maybe the end of the world. >> reporter: after j.f.k. was assassinated, sorensen worked for president johnson, ran unsuccessfully for the senate, and became a distinguished international lawyer. he was 82 when he died of complications from a stroke. there's a lesson from his life: powerful men die, powerful words endure for the ages. richard schlesinger, cbs news, new york. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. 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the words economy, jobs, and budget far outpace health care or the environment for google users. drill down even further to find the most important regional issues. type in the word "foreclosure" and you see the term is most popular in the state of nevada which has the highest foreclosure and unemployment rates in the nation. >> my opponent says it's not her job to create jobs. what in the hell is her job, then? >> reporter: that's made the economy a major factor in the key senate race between harry reid and tea party favorite republican sharron angle. >> and these aren't just numbers. >> reporter: both are on the list of top ten searched candidates at google news along with republican candidates for senate linda mcmahon and rand paul. who's number one? >> i'm ready? are you? >> reporter: meg whitman, a republican running for governor of california. it remains to be seen if more than $140 million in campaign spending can win her an election, but it's certainly won her a great deal of attention online. sharyl attkisson, cbs news, washington. >> couric: and that's the "cbs evening news" for tonight. join us tomorrow night for our campaign 2010 election wrapups at 10:00 eastern 9:00 central and at 1:00 a.m., 10:00 p.m. pacific plus updates throughout the evening. i'm katie couric reporting from cbs news election headquarters in new york. thank you for watching. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org access.wgbh.org ,,,, our state is in a real mess. and i'm not going to give you any phony plans or snappy slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decisions. we have to live within our means. we have got to take the power from the state capitol and move it down to the local level, closer to the people. and no new taxes, without voter approval. we have got to pull together not as republicans or as democrats but as californians first. at this stage in my life, i'm prepared to do exactly that.