WASHINGTON: Republicans continue to take heart from the fact that Democratic senator Maria Cantwell appears to have trouble breaking 50 percent in the polls. They would feel even better if GOP businessman Mike McGavick were running a bit closer behind her. Emerging allegations about Cantwell’s close ties to a lobbyist may help. LEANING DEMOCRATIC RETENTION — John J. Miller is national political reporter for National Review and the author, most recently, of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.