Is Porter’s House seat lost or a toss up?

By Lisa Mascaro

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | 5:50 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Maybe they drew this up before reading today’s Sun?

A Republican “death list” circulating today (and flashed tonight by Jon Ralston) puts Rep. Jon Porter among 10 House Republican seats likely lost, according to U.S. News and World Report.

(Yet in Politico’s version of the story, Porter’s name is noticeably absent. A typo, or something more?)

So is Porter up or down?

The Sun’s J. Patrick Coolican reported this morning that Porter’s tough re-election campaign is heading into the final stretch in better shape than just a few weeks ago.

Thanks to Porter’s negative TV ad blitz he is pushing back Democratic challenger Dina Titus, the state senator. Analysts at Rothenberg Political Report recently shifted the race from leaning Democratic back to toss up.

“They are driving up her unfavorables and giving him a chance to be reelected in difficult circumstances,” the report’s Nathan Gonzales told the Sun.

Stay tuned.