ATCHISON ? Waiting for her first appointment of the day to arrive, Diane McDermed shared a cup of coffee and political views in her shop, A Cut Above.

She gushed about Democratic women, including Nancy Boyda, who she believes has a good chance of upsetting Republican Congressman Jim Ryun Nov. 7, in their rematch for the 2nd District Congressional seat. McDermed said Boyda is a strong woman fit for office.

“Most of all, I’m tired of Mr. Ryun,” McDermed said. “I don’t think he’s done much.”

Democrats nationwide are counting on voters like the 53-year-old McDermed, whose husband is the Atchison fire chief, to send Republicans packing this fall. Boyda has campaigned on the slogan “Had enough?” and her signs are everywhere in the eastern Kansas district.

Voters nationally have said the House page scandal that forced the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., will play a role in their decisions. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll taken shortly after the scandal first broke found that about half of likely voters said corruption and congressional scandal would be important to how they vote.

About two out of three of those voters said they would pick a Democrat.

Democratic strategist James Carville said recent polling data suggested the party could make gains in Congress beyond winning a majority of seats. He’s said he’s ready to take out loans to put money in districts where Republicans are vulnerable.

While Democrats have targeted 50 seats held by Republicans, Carville said that field might warrant expansion, “perhaps to places that we don’t even know the name of.”

“We have to make them protect every seat today that they thought was safe a couple of weeks ago,” Carville said, including Ryun’s. “I haven’t seen anything like this in my time in politics.”

McDermed said one reason she supports Boyda is because federal regulations prevent her elderly father, who requires care to stay in his home, from getting help to weatherize his home.

“I’m not putting him a nursing home. I will die first,” McDermed said. “I think Washington, including President Bush, has forgotten the little people.”

She’s also frustrated with the war in Iraq, but adds “I don’t know if you can do anything different.”

Across the street at the Reynolds Drug Store, a coffee klatch of local curmudgeons gathered for their daily confab.

Roger Caudle, 66, a builder, said there was a Boyda sign in front of one of his commercial properties.

“But that doesn’t mean I’m a supporter of Mrs. Boyda,” he said. “I think my right of voting is a personal thing. And I don’t think you are (being personal) when you put a sign in your yard.”

Concerns about Congress don’t seem to influence the group’s impressions of Ryun.

“I think Ryun is going to be hard to beat since he’s well thought of,” Caudle said. “I don’t despise Congress. I think they have a tough job to do. I don’t think you should condemn them all.”

However, Bill Murphy thinks Boyda has a chance, especially because Ryun hasn’t visited the town recently.

“I don’t think he’s campaigning like she is,” said Murphy, 52, owner of convenience stores and a pizza restaurant. “Just the fact that he’s Republican is trouble. Things could fly up and hit him in the face.”

Murphy said Boyda’s message of change was working but said she doesn’t give specifics about what those changes would be.

In Ottawa, Russ Testorff, a Republican and educator at the Community Learning Center on Main Street, doesn’t think Boyda’s message is resonating. He’s satisfied with Ryun’s performance and isn’t worried about the effect of the recent scandal.

“I try to look at things individually and I don’t try to associate them with any one individual,” Testorff, 60, said.

In an earlier stop, Ryun had worked the lunch crowd at a restaurant on the edge of Ottawa. Jane Harris, a retired medical records employee, remembered Ryun from his days as a star runner for Kansas University and in the Olympics.

Today, Ryun, who is seeking his sixth term, reflects her views in Washington.

“His family values is what we appreciate about him, his morals,” said Harris, 85. “I think those Democrats just pick on the Republicans.”

Brad Mayhew, 53, a Lawrence environmental engineer, said he and his wife have known the Ryuns for decades and participated in Bible studies with them. He said the political climate is different from 2004, during the first Ryun-Boyda race.

“The Foley issue should help Jim Ryun because of everything he stands for. We know what we are getting with him,” said Mayhew, who paid $100 to attend a Topeka fundraiser with Vice President Dick Cheney.

After listening to Boyda at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Baldwin banker Ivan Huntoon was impressed.

“People are tired of the politics,” said Huntoon, 36, a registered Republican. “I think times are getting tough on the middle class. The quality of life isn’t what they thought.”

Kirby Hayes, a 70-year-old retired Methodist minister, has been a big Boyda supporter.

“We have to sit down and talk to each other,” Hayes said. “To do that, Congress has to become bipartisan and more balanced. One-party control is too dangerous, even if it goes Democratic.”

He said Ryun’s fundraiser with Cheney showed the race is close. Cheney raised $209,000 at a Topeka event, his third visit to the district this year.

“It might be the only place he can go in the country,” Carville quipped.