Since initial polls taken in September showed him 6 points behind Hill, Sodrel appears to have closed in, according to the most recent poll, released by SurveyUSA. The data show Hill, at 48 percent, clinging to a 2-point lead over Sodrel, well within the survey's 4.4 percent margin of error.

Appearing with the president may only hurt Sodrel's chances, however.

The president is currently polling at 37 percent nationwide, and Hill has assailed the congressman as "a rubber stamp" for the Bush administration. Sodrel says he votes against the president when he disagrees with a policy, such as immigration. In another sign that Republicans are worried about the district, the National Republican Congressional Committee has recently doled out as much as $500,000 in ads assailing Hill.

–Bret Schulte