In 2004 President Bush got 55% of the vote in this district in northeastern Wisconsin, leading many to expect that GOP nominee John Gard, an experienced state lawmaker, wouldn't have too much trouble defeating neophyte candidate and allergist Steve Kagen. But now CQ Politics has changed its rating of the race, which has now become one of Wisconsin's hottest contests, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite." More from CQ after the jump.

CQ Politics:

Gard, in his effort to defend the seat, continues to tout his experience as a state legislator. “I have been in leadership roles of great responsibility and understand what it takes,” Gard said. “I also think [this race] is about job security.”

Kagen — who lives in Appleton, the district’s second most-populous city behind Green Bay — has countered assertively that his medical background makes him the candidate to pursue health care policy, which he in turn describes as the most important issue for a district that is heavily dependent on manufacturing industries and has experienced job cutbacks in recent years...

Gard’s high-level Republican backing has not deterred national Democratic officials, who now view this seat as a prime target. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee placed Kagen and his 8th District bid in its program to boost party nominees regarded as strong takeover candidates, which it calls “Red to Blue” (a reference to political maps that commonly color Republican districts as red and Democratic districts as blue).

With a relatively cheap media market that centers around Green Bay and the rest of Brown County, both candidates have plenty of money to pitch their competing messages.

As of Sept. 30, Gard reported that he had just less than $2 million in total receipts and about $285,000 left in the bank. Kagen’s surge into competition has been fueled by almost $2 million in total receipts —$1.7 million of which came from his own pockets; he had about $146,000 cash on hand entering October.

CQ reports that the race has become one of the state's hottest contests. CQ's full analysis here.