Here , sentiment is strong against President Bush , and Democrats are cresting on a '' partisan wave year , '' identifying themselves as a party of change , said Stuart Rothenberg , a nonpartisan political analyst in Washington , D.C . In 2004 , Diane Farrell , a 51-year-old Democrat from Westport , lost her bid for a House seat in the Fourth Congressional District by four percentage points to the Republican incumbent , Christopher Shays , 61 , of Bridgeport , and she is running against him again .