The big prize is up for grabs in November is in the form of the White House, but there are 435 other consolation prizes in the form of House of Representatives seats also on the line. Steny Hoyer, the number two Democrat in the House said on Tuesday his party would take over the majority from the Republicans.

He said prospects were very favorable for capturing the House two years after the Democrats suffered a rout at the hands of the Republicans during the 2010 mid-term election. Even the House Speaker John Boehner said he could see cracks in the armor of the Republican Party that could cause, he said, the Republicans to loss the House to the Democrats.

Hoyer did not agree with Boehner’s prediction that the Democrats have only a 1 in 3 chance of taking back control of the House. Hoyer feels that chance is at least 50/50 and could even be higher. Currently the House is made up of 242 Republicans and just 190 Democrats. There are currently three vacancies in the House. That includes the seat held by Gabrielle Giffords, the Democrat from Arizona who has resigned to focus on recovering from a gunshot wound to the head.

Boehner said, “We will have a real challenge, but I believe the Republicans can keep the House.”

He added, “Fifty of us are in difficult races and 89 are running for their first re-election.”

Boehner said in districts in New York and California, where there are no big U.S. Senate contests up for grabs and where Obama is favored, Republicans could be very vulnerable.