Third-term Rep. Michael Forbes of New York was expected to switch parties Saturday and become a Democrat, said an official familiar with his decision.
The official said Friday night in Washington that Forbes was expected to make an announcement of his plans at his home in Quogue, on Long Island.
Efforts to contact Forbes late Friday were unsuccessful, and the precise reason for his expected switch could not be learned.
In addition to giving Democrats an additional seat in the House, a switch would give them a major psychological boost at a time when they are mounting a major effort to gain control in the 2000 elections.
Forbes, 47, was first elected to Congress in 1994, one of more than 70 GOP first-termers who helped usher in a Republican majority in the House for the first time in 40 years.
He would be the first congressional Republican to switch to the Democrats since the GOP gained a majority in both the House and Senate six years ago.
Five House Democrats switched to the GOP in 1995, and two Democratic senators have done likewise in the last few years.
Republicans hold 223 seats in the House; Democrats have 210, with one independent. There also is one vacancy following the death last week of California Democrat George Brown.
