Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives last night and stand within two Senate seats of controlling both chambers of Congress, separated only by pending results in Montana and a razor-thin Democratic lead in Virginia. As of press time, the Democrats gained four Senate seats, 27 House seats and six governorships.
Next term will be the first time Democrats have controlled the House and the majority of governorships since Republicans swept to power in a similar turnabout in the elections of 1994.
Most pundits say the results reflect voter dissatisfaction with continuing violence and American operations in Iraq, President George W. Bush's approval rating and recent congressional corruption and ethical scandals.
"The war in Iraq was clearly the foremost concern of voters, and I think the polls show that," said Dave Wasserman, deputy director of communications at the University's Center for Politics. "Satellite concerns" also played a role, Wasserman added.
This year, referenda on the ballot in several hotly contested states included a stem-cell research initiative in Missouri, same-sex marriage amendments in Virginia and seven other states and an affirmative action initiative in Michigan.
In House races, key Democratic victories influenced by corruption include Tim Mahoney's defeat of Republican Joe Negron for the seat vacated by former Republican Mark Foley in Florida's 16th district. Foley resigned from office earlier this year after it was revealed he had sexually explicit conversations with an underage House page. Democrat Zack Space defeated Republican challenger Joy Padgett in Ohio's 18th congressional district for the seat previously occupied by Republican Bob Ney, who resigned Friday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his connection to GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff's in an influence peddling scandal.
With the House now in Democratic hands, a narrowly split Senate and a Republican-controlled White House, Wasserman speculated Washington would be rife with partisanship.
"Citizens can expect two years of a whole lot of nothing getting done," Wasserman said. "For some, this is a good thing, since many voters have expressed disappointment over the government's handling of the war in Iraq as well as domestic issues."
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., said Democrats hope to use their gains to implement a legislative agenda including governmental reform, renewed focus on fiscal policy, funding for stem cell research, increased minimum wage and restraining soaring educational and college expenses. Foreign policy, particularly the Iraq War, will also be featured prominently on the agenda. Voters will hold the Democrats accountable for these gains in two years, Moran added.
"You know, it's a strange job when you have to get reelected every two years, that's why they call us representatives, but it gives us two years to show an alternative course for this nation," Moran said.
When the Democrats assume control of the House in January, current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will become the first-ever female speaker of the House.
In the Senate, Democrats were projected to defeat Republican incumbents Jim Talent in Missouri, Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island, Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania and Mike DeWine in Ohio.
The victory of Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse over Chafee, a moderate Republican who cast the only dissenting vote from his party against the war in Iraq, highlighted voter frustration with Republican leadership. Similarly, independent Joe Lieberman was re-elected despite losing the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont, who criticized Lieberman's support of the Iraq war.
As of press time, two critical Senate races were still undecided -- Montana and Virginia. To maintain control of the Senate, Republicans must win one of these two remaining states.
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