The non-partisan Cook Political Report noted 32 of 37 Republican congressmen locked in competitive races voted against the bailout measure this week, while 18 of 29 Democratic House members did the same, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Nick Jordan, a Republican running against Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore in Kansas, said the handling of the crisis is "another example" of how Washington has changed the incumbent rather than how he has changed Washington.

But those who voted against the bill also are getting knocked by campaign rivals, USA Today said.

"The inability (of) Congress to compromise because of a few very partisan ideologues has put this nation on the brink of 1929," Democrat Eric Massa said in an attack on Republican Rep. Randy Kuhl of New York, who opposed the bill.

Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report, told USA Today many congressional candidates aren't taking firm campaign stands until the debate plays out.

"We don't know what the fallout will be on Election Day," Gonzales said. "All the members are trying to balance doing the right thing versus doing nothing."

Early voting gaining popularity in U.S. PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Voting early rather than waiting for Election Day in November is gaining popularity across the United States, political trackers say

Paul Gronke, a researcher at the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Ore., ventures that one-in-three votes cast in the general elections this year will be cast early by mail or in person, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. That would be up from 14 percent in 2000.

Signs of that shift were evident Tuesday in Ohio, where a court ruled voters can register and vote the same day. College students in Columbus spent the night in tents so they could be at the front of the line; Akron voters queued up early as well, while in Cleveland, homeless people were driven from shelters to polling places, the Post said.

The trend to getting voting responsibilities out of the way ahead of time has been recognized by political campaign strategists, too.

"Every vote we get in early is one less to run down on Election Day," Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, told the Post.

Evan Tracey of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, which keeps an eye on spending, spotted an ad from the Obama camp that targeted Ohio's early voters.