In a year in which the Iraq war and President Bush’s low approval ratings are threatening to doom many House Republicans, two New York incumbents may buck the expected Democratic wave and retain their seats.

Republican Reps. James Walsh of Syracuse and Sue Kelly of the Hudson Valley are aiming to avoid the fate of some of their Republican colleagues tomorrow by stressing their independence on issues like the environment and stem cell research and by demonstrating that they have stood up for their constituents and brought federal dollars to their home districts.

Mr. Walsh and Ms. Kelly have been forced to try to blunt accusations from their Democratic opponents that their votes in the House with Mr. Bush shows them to be out of touch with New Yorkers.

New York Democrats have zeroed in on districts where the gap between registered Republicans and Democrats is small but where the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, Senator Kerry of Massachusetts, ran strongly.

An associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, Grant Reeher, said that while Mr. Walsh has supported Mr. Bush on the Iraq war, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Medicare, the congressman has stressed other issues on which he has broken ranks with the White House.

“On the detainee bill, he took a position that was counter to the Bush administration’s preferred stance. He was part of the compromise,” Mr. Reeher said. “In addition, he has been quite clear in his advocacy for money coming back to the district.”

Mr. Walsh, who is seeking his 10th term in office, is chairman of the Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs, and he secured federal funds to clean up the polluted Onondaga Lake in Syracuse. Mr. Reeher said the Republican also has been bolstered by a perception among voters that he is more independent-minded than most GOP congressmen.

Mr. Walsh, who has been in office for 18 years, did not face a Democratic challenger in 2004. But Mr. Kerry narrowly carried the district that year, and this time Mr. Walsh is being challenged by Dan Maffei, who worked for Senator Moynihan.

Mr. Maffei has criticized Mr. Walsh for his support for the Iraq war and Congress’s inability to raise the minimum wage. Mr. Maffei has told voters that as part of a majority-ruling party — should the Democrats take the House — he will vote to increase the minimum wage.

The executive director of the Republican Main Street Partnership, Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, said Ms. Kelly is a prime example of a Republican who has distanced herself from the “conservative” label.

Ms. Kelly voted against opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and is in favor of stem cell research.

Independence from the Bush White House has been central to her message, though the congresswoman did vote with Mr. Bush 77% of the time in 2006, according to Congressional Quarterly.

In a recent ad, she said, “I’m not always the most popular person with party leaders in Congress.”

But Ms. Kelly, who garnered 67% of the vote in 2004, is not abandoning the Republican Party on all the issues. She has struck back at her opponent, Democrat John Hall, accusing him of favoring lax fiscal measures such as a universal health care system and federally funded political campaigns.

Mr. Hall, in turn, has challenged Ms. Kelly’s political contributions from oil companies and her support for the Iraq war. And President Clinton recently stumped for Mr. Hall.

One of the best opportunities for the Democrats appears to be in the open 24th Congressional District in central New York, where Republican Sherwood Boehlert, a popular congressman who has voted with Mr. Bush 63% of the time in 2006, according to Congressional Quarterly, is stepping down.

Running to succeed him is Democrat Michael Arcuri, who tells voters he is the heir apparent to the independent tradition of Mr. Boehlert, particularly on environmental issues.

Mr. Arcuri has branded his opponent, Raymond Meier, as “too conservative” for the district, citing his votes against embryonic stem cell research while he was a state senator — a measure Mr. Boehlert voted to support. Polls have Mr. Arcuri slightly ahead of the Republican.