WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., expects the Democrats to gain seats in the fall’s congressional elections, but he won’t let on just how many he expects.

 That’s partly, he says, because the legislative elections will depend in part on which Democrats heads the ticket as presidential nominee.

Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, met with reporters Monday at the Christian Science Monitor’s Sperling breakfast, a venerable tradition in Washington. That was the same place where syndicated columnist Robert Novak made some comments about the late senator Tom Eagleton and the late president Harry Truman, that angered some in Missouri.

Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would bring strengths and weaknesses as nominees, Van Hollen said, adding that he’s concerned that the the increasingly hostile and personal competition could hurt the party in the fall election.

He added that he’s not trying to cut the race short, saying it’s a matter of tone, not time. But even with those concerns, an unpopular war in Iraq and a faltering economy put the Democrats in good stead, he said.