Election Results: Key Senate/House Races
WASHINGTON — Democrats broadened their control of Congress, though in the Senate they fell short of the 60 votes needed for a filibuster-proof majority that would have given them almost unbridled power over legislation.
Voters ousted Senate Republicans in North Carolina and New Hampshire and added three seats held by retiring GOP incumbents to the Democrats' fragile 51-49 majority. Four other Senate races involving Republican incumbents remained too close to call Wednesday, including Georgia, where a runoff election was possible, and Minnesota, where the margin was so close that state law forced a re-count. The GOP retained some leverage in spite of Democratic gains.
"The people have spoken. We hear the people and now it's time to come behind our president," Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told "The Early Show" on CBS on Wednesday. "The Senate is going to have to work things out in a bipartisan way, and I think the test is going to be right there."
In the Georgia Senate race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin, each candidate won just shy of the 50 percent of the vote plus one required to win, so the state set a runoff election for Dec. 2, provided current results hold.
The Associated Press called the Senate race in Minnesota prematurely. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken in the final vote count, but Coleman's 571-vote margin was less than one-half of 1 percent, requiring a re-count under state law.
The AP also took back a call for a Republican in an open GOP House seat in central Ohio. Republican Steve Stivers finished ahead of Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy early Wednesday, but the Franklin County Board of Elections said later that its unofficial vote count had included results from two other counties. The race remained too close to call.
In the House, Democrats captured GOP-held seats in every region, adding at least 19 seats to the 30 they took from Republicans in 2006. Democrats could gain as many as three more seats where they led in undecided races. Going into Tuesday's election, Democrats controlled the House 235-199 with one vacancy in a formerly Democratic seat.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats' first order of business was a lame-duck session to quickly enact another economic stimulus package but cautioned that it would take time to achieve the party's top priorities.
"The country must be governed from the middle," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Wednesday. "You have to bring people together to reach consensus on solutions that are sustainable and acceptable to the American people."
Pelosi said no decisions have been made on a postelection session. But she said talks were continuing with the White House on the terms of an economic aid measure, which would include additional assistance for the unemployed.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said excitement and record turnout helped propel Democrat Barack Obama to victory.
"Obama ran a terrific campaign. He inspired millions of people," Reid said in a telephone interview. "It's been a really good night."
Even as they celebrated, Democratic leaders pivoted to looming issues big and small, including whether to punish or tolerate a Senate ally who endorsed Republican John McCain. There were bigger questions down the road: how to resolve deep differences in their own ranks over promised reforms like universal health care and energy independence _ and just how much the public would punish Democrats if they fail.
However daunting, those were nice problems to have compared with the hangover afflicting Republicans. Before Obama had finished his acceptance speech, GOP lawmakers had turned a harsh eye on themselves.
"We have got to clean up, reform and rebuild the Republican Party before we can ask Americans to trust us again. This must begin with either a change of command at the highest levels or our current leaders must embrace a bold new direction," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said in a statement moments after Obama won. "Our party must start today to admit our mistakes, fight for our convictions and encourage new conservatives to run for office."
There were signs of a GOP shake up to come. Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican, told colleagues in a letter released near midnight that he was stepping down from his leadership post _ "reluctantly." Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., a leading conservative, announced he would seek the No. 2 GOP slot.
Not one Republican defeated a Senate Democrat.
But the GOP blocked a complete rout in that chamber, holding the Kentucky seat of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a Mississippi seat once held by Trent Lott _ two top Democratic targets. Also surviving was Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who defeated Democratic Rep. Tom Allen by a nearly 3-2 margin despite Obama's overwhelming victory in her state.
In Minnesota, where voters cast nearly 2.9 million ballots, the re-count could take weeks. "There is reason to believe that the re-count could change the vote tallies significantly," Franken said in a statement.
Exit polls showed voters were deeply anxious about the economy and dissatisfied with President Bush. They haven't been thrilled by Democrats in Congress, either, largely because the new majority could not end the Iraq war as promised.
The war remains unpopular, and distaste for the conflict helped Obama, exit polls showed. Nearly two-thirds of voters surveyed disapproved of the conflict, and that group overwhelmingly backed the Democrat.
But that issue was overshadowed by the crumbling economy; nothing else came close among voters' concerns, exit polls showed. That hurt McCain and some Republicans farther down the ballot.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., former president of the American Red Cross, a one-time presidential hopeful and household name in Republican circles, lost her seat after only one term to state Sen. Kay Hagan.
In New Hampshire, where McCain beat George W. Bush in the 2000 GOP primary, the self-styled maverick lost to Obama. And incumbent Republican Sen. John Sununu lost to former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.
Other Democrats who won Republican-held seats were former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, and cousins Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico.
Those wins brought the Democratic Senate majority to 56, but that number was anything but final. Races remained without clear winners Wednesday in Oregon and Alaska, as well as Georgia and Minnesota.
The Democrats' new majority _ for now _ includes Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who has caucused with the party. Many Democrats want to strip him of his Homeland Security committee chairmanship, kick him out of the caucus or both because he endorsed his close friend McCain over Obama.
Reid said he would meet with Lieberman later this week to discuss the matter. Much rides on how badly Democrats need Lieberman to reach the 60 votes required to block Republican filibusters.
In the House, it was the first time in 75 years that Democrats won major gains in back-to-back elections.
This year, their wins changed political geography. Ousting 22-year veteran Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut gave Democrats every House seat from New England. Their victory in an open seat on New York's Staten Island gave them control of the city's delegation for the first time in 35 years.
Democrats also rode the coattails of a decisive victory by Obama in New Mexico to win one House seat they haven't controlled in four decades and another the GOP had held for 28 years. Both were left up for grabs by GOP retirements.
The news wasn't all good for Democrats. They lost three first-termers in Florida, Louisiana and Texas, as well as Kansas Rep. Nancy Boyda, whose Topeka-based seat went to Lynn Jenkins, the GOP state treasurer.
"We sort of got through this, we think, a little bit better than some people might have expected," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the head of the Republican House campaign committee.
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LAURIE KELLMAN | November 5, 2008 08:11 PM EST |
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