Though the Democrats have conclusively gained control of the House with a pick up of at least 27 seats, 13 races have yet to be officially called by at least two major news sources. Here's why:

Update: CNN and NBC have both called GA-08 for Dem Rep. Jim Marshall and PA-06 for GOP Rep. Jim Gerlach.

Update 2: In PA-08, GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick concedes.

* CT-02: Democrat Joe Courtney leads, but still too close to call, waiting for a recount. A Courtney victory would be another Dem pick up.

* FL-13: GOPer Vern Buchanan declared victory in this race to succeed GOP Rep. Katherine Harris, but Dem Christine Jennings won't concede until a recount, which won't be completed until Nov. 18. Voting problems are suspected to have occurred in the district.

* GA-08: Dem Rep. Jim Marshall leads GOPer Mac Collins by 2,048 votes — outside the 1% recount zone — but the race won't be certified until Friday. Called for Marshall.

* GA-12: Dem Rep. John Barrow declared victory, but it has not been confirmed by GA election officials due to server problems in one county.

* NC-08: GOP Rep. Robin Hayes declared victory, but a recount is expected as he only leads Dem Larry Kissell by 468 votes. A Kissell victory would be a surprise pick up for the Democrats.

* NM-01: No winner declared in this close race where provisional and absentee ballots are still waiting to be counted. A victory by Patricia Madrid would be another pick up for the Dems.

* OH-02: Dem Victoria Wulsin has refused to concede, but GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt leads by slim margin.

* OH-15: Fox News called it for GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce, but Dem Mary Jo Kilroy will not concede, waiting for absentee ballots to be counted.

* PA-06: The Philadelphia Inquirer has called it for GOP Rep. Jim Gerlach, but no other official source has followed suit. Called for Gerlach.

* PA-08: Dem Patrick Murphy declared victory, but GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick refuses to concede. A Murphy victory would be another Dem pick up. Fitzpatrick concedes.

* TX-23: There will be a run-off election between GOP Rep. Henry Bonilla and Dem Ciro Rodriguez because Bonilla failed to win more than 50% of the vote.

* WA-08: GOP Rep. David Reichert leads Dem Darcy Burner, but more than 10,000 absentee ballots still need to be counted.

* WY-AL: Race between GOP Rep. Barbar Cubin and Dem Gary Trauner is too close to call and a recount is expected. A Trauner victory would be another Dem pick up.

National Dems appear to be getting serious about taking out GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. The DCCC yesterday pumped a huge amount into the race, spending $1,348,073.77 on an ad campaign targeting Fitzpatrick, new records filed with the Federal Election Commission show. To get a sense of just how nasty the ad war has gotten between Fitzpatrick and Dem challenger Patrick Murphy, check out these dueling ads from the two camps. The most recent poll showed Murphy with a small edge over Fitzpatrick; this latest DCCC money drop suggests that Dems think they can put this one away.

Check this out: We have two ads from the same race for you below. The first is from GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. It uses an appearance on Harball by Dem challenger Patrick Murphy to paint him as indecisive about Iraq -- even though Murphy served there. The clip shows Murphy failing under questioning from Chris Matthews to say whether or not he would have voted for the war. You can view it here. The second ad (which is after the jump) is a response from Murphy. It touts his service in Iraq, and quotes Murphy slamming Fitzpatrick for questioning his service. Both these ads are hard hitting and depart from the usual cliches of negative advertising. Do you think Murphy effectively countered Fitzpatrick's attack? We'd love to hear from you.

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Echoing a theme employed by most Democrats running against Republican incumbents, a new ad by Patrick Murphy slams his opponent for his submissive and unwavering support of Bush and his Iraq policy. The ad titled “Leader”, shows the situation in Iraq spiraling out of control and states that Mike Fitzpatrick, “can’t name one thing” he would do different from George Bush. Murphy makes an appearance at the end to tell us that “reasonable people can disagree on Iraq, but leaders take a stand.” His stand is for a “phased redeployment” of US troops out of Iraq. Democrats like Murphy clearly hope that come November people will be thinking about Iraq and the choice between more of the same or a way out.

This is kind of fun. The three most endangered GOP incumbents in Pennsylvania -- Mike Fitzpatrick, Jim Gerlach, and Curt Weldon -- are all competing with each other to prove their undying disloyalty to Bush. How? They're all pointing to what has become a bragging point in this campaign: their low scores in the party-loyalty ratings compiled by Congressional Quarterly. And the winner is...Fitzpatrick, who's apparently the third least loyal Republican among all 231 GOP House members.

A massive ad war is about to begin in the races in three contested Pennsylvania Congressional districts -- including the nationally watched race between GOP Rep. Curt Weldon and Dem challenger Joe Sestak. The National Republican Campaign Committee and its Dem counterpart have bought up an astoundingly high combined total of $16.1 million in campaign advertising for the three districts during the month leading up to the Nov. 7 election. More details on their buys after the jump.

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In the radio debate on Friday, GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, when asked about Iran, responded: "Israel should have the right of preemptive strike to defend itself, its sovereignty and its people" if Israelis believe it would be "in their self interest." Dem Patrick Murphy, an Iraq war veteran, countered that war in Iran is "not something we should be encouraing." He described Fitzpatrick as someone who "hasn't worn a uniform but wants to talk tough and sound tough." Last week Fitzpatrick said we should not "stay the course" in Iraq; apparently he just wants us to focus on the next war in the Middle East. 

House GOP strategists are dumping huge sums of cash into the Northeast, in an effort to stave off electoral disaster in the region.

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GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick's chief of staff infiltrates a conference call between Dem challenger Patrick Murphy, John Kerry and reporters and bloggers, then harangues Murphy about some upcoming debates.

After Kerry and Murphy get off the call, bloggers pounced on the chief of staff, Mike Conallen. First he says he isn't Fitzpatrick's Chief of Staff. Then he admits that he is. Then he claims he's ... on vacation. The Democratic Daily has a transcript and audio.

Fitzpatrick, reached later by the Inquirer, says he didn't tell Conallen to make the call, but was "proud" of him for "pinning Murphy down." "That's what press conferences are for," Fitzpatrick says.

This week, Comcast ran a TV ad praising Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R) for supporting the Medicare prescription-drug program in 2003. "Thanks to Mike Fitzpatrick, close to two million Pennsylvania seniors now benefit from drug coverage," the ad intones. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce paid for the spot.

There's just one little problem. Fitzgerald wasn't a Congressman in 2003. He was elected to Congresss the following year, in 2004.

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Right now, Pennsylvanians might be facing more pressing concerns than the midterm elections. Even so, it’s worth comparing how the candidates in District 8 are reacting to the flood. Incumbent Mike Fitzpatrick (R) has put out a statement listing the ways he tried to prevent flooding in his first term. His legislative efforts may be commendable, but they aren’t doing much for the people currently fleeing Bucks County. Challenger Patrick Murphy (D), an Iraq war veteran, took a more practical approach: he’s organizing volunteers to provide supplies and shelter to evacuees. Murphy’s community service group, MurphyCorps, already does at least one service project a month. Past ventures include hosting a blood drive and building a YMCA playground. Clever campaign strategy? Maybe, but the evacuees MurphyCorps volunteers offer housing probably won’t care.