Democrats won control of the House and the Senate early Nov. 8 after a dozen years of Republican rule in a resounding fashion, a Republican president and a scandal-scarred Congress were overwhelmed with results this midterm election.
“From sea to shining sea, the American people voted for change,” declared Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the hard-charging California Democrat in line to become the nation’s first female House speaker. “Today we have made history,” she said, “now let us make progress.”
Lame-duck Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., was elected to an 11th term, but several GOP officials said they expected him to step down as party leader and possibly even retire from Congress. “It’s been kind of tough out there,” Hastert said. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow observed: “It’s not like a slap on the forehead kind of shock.”
Democrats had captured 27 Republican-controlled seats, and no Democratic incumbent had lost thus far. Races were too close to call in more than a dozen seats, making it impossible to determine exactly how large the Democratic margin would be election night. The morning after would find the president congratulating the winners and calling out for bipartisan cooperation.
President Bush, waking up on Wednesday to a new balance of power in Washington, picked up the phone and invited House speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi to lunch.
“They had a very good conversation. He congratulated her on their wins,” deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino said about Bush’s call to Pelosi the morning after Democrats took control of the House in Tuesday’s election.
“Today the American people voted for change and they voted for Democrats to take their country in a new direction, and that is exactly what we intend to do,” Pelosi, who won an 11th term, told several hundred people celebrating in a Washington hotel ballroom.
All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and most incumbents won easy re-election. The current lineup: 229 Republicans, 201 Democrats, one independent who lines up with the Democrats for organizational purposes, and four vacancies, three of them in seats formerly held by Republicans. The fight for control came down to about 50 seats, nearly half in states from Connecticut through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. All were in Republican hands, a blend of seats coming open and incumbents in trouble.
Through it all, Democrats cast the race as a national referendum on Bush and Iraq, accusing Republicans of walking in lockstep with the president and rubber stamping his policies. Republicans insisted the elections came down to choices between individual candidates from coast to coast and that Democrats were liberals who would raise taxes, flee from Iraq and be soft on terrorists.
U.S. Senate came down to four states deciding who would take control. The state of Virginia was one of the closest races and one of the deciding factors of the election. JH Webb (D) beat out incumbent JF Allen (R ) with about 8,000 votes, less than a 1 percent margin. In Missouri, Montana and Pennsylvania, incumbent Republicans were unable to gather enough votes to remain in power. Analysts and early projections had given the Democrats a slight chance of taking the Senate prior to election results.
Analysts say control of the House will allow Democrats to choose to initiate inquiries into the handling of Iraq, and could lead to significant changes on domestic issues like taxation and health care.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi – poised to become the chamber’s first female Speaker – spoke of the need for a new direction in Iraq. “We cannot continue down this catastrophic path,” she said.
Recently, Bush dismissed the possibility that Pelosi could become speaker of the House, saying in an interview “That’s not going to happen.” He set a more conciliatory tone in call to Pelosi at 7:15 a.m. EST. “I’d characterize it as a very friendly conversation and they pledged to work together,” Perino said.
Before calling Pelosi, Bush called House Speaker Dennis Hastert. “He thanked him for running strong races around the country that we fought hard, we have some tough loses, but that we’re going to work together as we move forward,” Perino said.
November has seen some of the worst violence yet in Iraq since the war began. Mass abductions throughout the country have also taken place leaving behind dozens dead and many others missing. As violence in Iraq continues to rise the Democrats will have to show the American public that they are able to take control of the situation, 2008 is just two years away.