WASHINGTON -- Despite the early potency shown in Gov. George W. Bush's bid for the White House, leading Republicans say they are deeply worried about the party's prospects in next year's congressional elections. They described the party as on the defensive against the Democrats and expressed concern that Republicans had not cogently defined themselves on vital issues.

Republican lawmakers and strategists said in interviews that they were particularly uneasy that the party was not prepared to defend its razor-thin margin, by which a shift of only five seats would change the balance of power in the House. They pointed to several signs of an early Republican disadvantage.So far, there have been three times more retirements of Republican incumbents than Democrats, leaving Republicans scrambling to defend far more seats next year.

Another difficulty is that party fund-raising to benefit House candidates, while better than the Democrats' performance, has not met expectations. Businesses have grown so doubtful about Republicans' fortunes next year at the congressional level that they are increasingly hedging their bets and donating to Democrats as well.

A new study by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent group that tracks campaign finances, found that business interests have more evenly split their contributions of unregulated soft money between the two parties' national campaign committees, a notable departure from recent elections in which Republicans have drawn far more.

"Nobody's saying: 'Woe is us. All is lost,' " said Rep. John R. Kasich, R-Ohio and chairman of the Budget Committee. "That's not the attitude. But the attitude is of real concern. A lot of it will depend on our ability up on the Hill to craft a good message."

Indeed, contributing to the Republicans' distress is a round of polls last week that found a deep erosion of public support for Republicans in Congress. Surveys show that -- aside from matters of morality and taxes -- voters are more confident in the Democrats on issue after issue.

Republicans offer several explanations for their current straits, including the party's inability to articulate a more appealing message, lingering resentment over the Republicans' handling of impeachment, a lack of forceful Republican leaders on Capitol Hill and residual bitterness from the tenure of former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

These findings come at an especially inopportune time for Republicans. Congress is about to wrap up its work for the year, and many Republicans said they would have little to show for their efforts when they returned home. As a result, on the eve of the campaign season, which opens in earnest in January, several Republicans described a dispirited mood among their colleagues on Capitol Hill. Democrats, in contrast, seem more hopeful.

In the Senate, Republicans have more races to worry about than Democrats. Nineteen seats held by Republicans will be on next year's ballots; Democrats have to defend 14.

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For many Republicans, the biggest worry is the party's seeming lack of a plan to better define itself.

"It looks like we're waiting for George Bush to lead us to nirvana, and that's dangerous ," said Ed Brookover, a former executive director of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

He said that unless a Republican won the White House "in a blowout," there was no guarantee that that candidate would prevent House Republicans from losing seats. Even when Bill Clinton swept the White House in 1992, Democrats suffered a net loss of nine House seats.

"We need a very clear message," Brookover said, "and a very clear path to victory to assure a majority next year.

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