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Republican congressional campaign strategists are privately crowing over the promising early results of their national TV advertising. Test-marketing suggests that the GOP may be able to turn its 26-year losing streak on Capitol Hill into a campaign asset this fall. The party hasn't controlled either house of Congress since 1954.

The commercials manage to link the long Democratic dominance of Congress with the nation's problems so persuasively that researchers are finding roughly one out of every five Americans can repeat, word for word, the campaign slogan: "Vote Republican for a Change."

Originally budgeted for $5 million and scheduled to end this month, the National Republican Congressional Committee's television campaign now is going to get more money and run till Election Day in November.m