For 14 years, the northwest corner of Pennsylvania has been represented in the House of Representatives by Republican Rep. Phil English. But Democrat Kathy Dahlkemper believes that in this campaign year, with everyone talking about change, she has a fighting chance.

"People are really looking for a change," said Mrs. Dahlkemper, 50, director of the Lake Erie Arboretum and owner of a landscape business who is making her first foray into politics. "They're fed up with the way things are going in Washington. They want somebody who they believe understands them. And I believe I bring that to this office. I'm much more in touch with the people than the current congressman. And people see that as refreshing."

The mood in District 3 -- as it is all across the country -- is not lost on Mr. English. He didn't get elected to seven terms without knowing how to take the temperature of the folks back home.

"The bulk of the people in my district are extremely unhappy with Washington," Mr. English said. "They want to see a change in how Congress works. And they want to see a change in the priorities in the executive branch. At a time like this, their inclination is to vote for a change."

District 3 -- which includes all of Erie County, most of Crawford, Mercer and Butler counties, and portions of Warren, Venango and Armstrong counties -- is a mix of urban and rural communities that lean to the conservative side, with pockets of unionized and ethnic voters. Mr. English, who describes himself as a moderate Republican, said he has been a good fit for his constituency.

But many voters are of a mind to throw the bums out.

"For any 14-year incumbent, even someone like myself who has been a change agent, it is a special burden on me to frame my candidacy in terms of what I can accomplish, what I've done in the past, and how I can be an effective change agent," Mr. English said. "Any time you've been in office for an extended period of time, and people are dissatisfied with the status quo, whatever one's voting record, you run the risk of being associated with the status quo.

"I've voted with the Bush administration only 50 percent of the time. That makes me one of the more independent guys in the House."

His time in office has given Mr. English more weight in committee rooms and more say at the conference tables. One of the more senior members of the House Ways and Means Committee, he said he has been able to impact trade law reform.

He's also brought federal dollars home in the form of science equipment for Gannon University in Erie and job-training programs in Meadville. He has built up a war chest to finance what has shaped up as one of the closest races he's had to run.

The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call last week labeled Mr. English's seat one of the 10 most vulnerable among the 434 members of Congress.

"English has barely had to sweat re-election in his blue-collar district in the past, but that's not the case this time," Roll Call reported. "Businesswoman Kathy Dahlkemper is running a classic outsider's campaign, and even though English was prepared, particularly on the financial front, his poll numbers have been sluggish, and his prospects look increasingly grim."

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report had upgraded the race from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up," and independent SurveyUSA's poll shows Mrs. Dahlkemper beating Mr. English, 49 percent to 45 percent.

A third candidate, Stephen Porter, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the seat in the past two elections, is running this year as an independent.

"This race has been very different. We're currently in a tussle," said Mr. English, whose margins of victory have been shrinking in his more recent contests. "Right now, the oxygen is being sucked out of the political debate because we're having this financial crisis, and this comes right on the heels of an energy crisis. ... I'm taking shots because of the problems, even though I represent a positive policy direction."

Mr. English, 52, faults President Bush's "wartime administration" and a slow-moving Congress for not recognizing the country's social needs.

"I'm frustrated because I see the American dream slipping away from the American middle class, and the next Congress has got to show real progress," he said. "This has been the worst Congress that I've served in. I've never seen partisan rancor at a higher level. The challenge is to show people that I'm different."

Going up against a seven-term incumbent can be an uphill battle for a political novice. Mrs. Dahlkemper may have some name recognition because of her family's former chain of catalog showroom stores, but she is largely unknown.

So, since defeating three challengers in the spring, Mrs. Dahlkemper has been traveling to parades and festivals meeting people. She has been talking to them in their living rooms.

She acknowledged her opponent's strengths, but wondered whether he's fully used them to the advantage of the district.

"He knows how things work, I'll grant him that," she said of Mr. English. "He knows how to get things done and he has experience." But, she added, over the last 14 years, people in the district have lost thousands of job; fewer have health insurance; their education system is declining.

"People look at him and wonder, really, what has he done?" Mrs. Dahlkemper said her early focus on the economy and work as a small-business owner has helped her relate to voters.

"The economy was the No. 1 issue during the primary, it was the No. 1 issue all summer, and it's still the No. 1 issue today," she said. "Because we are such a rural area with many small towns, the lifestyle that people have known for generations is fading fast. You go into these beautiful small towns with their Main Streets, and many of the stores are boarded up. Many homes are empty."

"The tide is turning. People have seen the failures, and they want something new."