McCain: If the election was tomorrow, GOP would lose

(CNN) – Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that if the election were held tomorrow, Republicans would lose seats in the House and Senate because "we've got a brand problem."

"I don¹t think the American people think the Democrats are governing very well in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. So it's not as if they are a shining example of good government," he said at a fundraiser in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The senator from Arizona said he's confident his party can come back and win with the "restoration of the trust and confidence of our base."

McCain brushed aside recent polls that show Sen. Barack Obama with a double-digit lead, pointing out that other surveys, such as a Gallup poll released Wednesday, show the race much closer.

"The first lesson I want you to draw is that people are really are not going to start focusing on the campaign until the conventions," he said.

With two months left until the party's conventions kick off, McCain suggested many people may forgo following politics and said instead are "going to try to enjoy the summer."

McCain said earlier this week that he¹s comfortable being the underdog.

"This is a tough race. We are behind; we are the underdog. That's what I like to be," he said at a fundraiser in Newport Beach, California.