democrat write up

Democrats take early lead in US elections
Geoff Elliott
Washington correspondent
November 08, 2006
US MEDIA have begun calling critical races in favour of the Democrats in the mid term Congressional elections, confirming polls that indicate voters are swinging against Republicans.

According to the projections Rick Santorum, the incumbent Republican senator from Pennsylvania has lost to Democrat Bob Casey. Also, the key Senate race in Ohio has been called in favour of Democrats, with Sherrod Brown beating incumbent Mike Dewine.

And critically, in the vulnerable Democrat seat in New Jersey, Democrats have been projected as the winner, Bob Menendez holding off a stiff challenge from Republican Tom Kean jr.

In the House of Representatives, Republicans are under pressure and US media has already projected that Republican incumbent John Hostettler will lose his seat in Indiana's 8th District to Democrat Brad Ellsworth.

Democrats, locked out of power for most of the past dozen years, needed gains of 15 seats in the House and six in the Senate to gain majorities that would let them restrain Bush's conservative agenda through the rest of his term.

Exit surveys from US TV networks and news agencies indicated that voters voicing disapproval of the president George W. Bush was running at about 58 per cent against just 41 per cent favourable.

While exit polls are greeted with skepticism, it could be an ominous indication for Republicans. In 1994 when they swept back into in both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years disapproval for Democrat president Bill Clinton was running at 53 per cent versus 44 per cent disapproval.

If they win back control, Democrats will be in charge of the legislative branch of the United States for the final two years of President Bush’s term.

All 435 House seats are on the ballot along with 33 Senate races (out of 100). Democrats have sought to make the elections a referendum on the president's handling of the war, the economy and more.

The Australian interviewed numerous voters emerging from polling booths today and the anti-Iraq war sentiment was palpable.

"I’m against the Iraq War because it’s wasting life, money and time and I think the President is exercising his power not generously," said one voter in Bethesda, Maryland, a strong Democrat district.

"The Republican administration has been a disaster, it’s the worst in the history of my life in terms of everything they have done, whether it's foreign policy or domestic policy," said another.

Also in the early exit polls, about three-quarters of voters said scandals mattered to them in deciding how to vote, and they were more likely to side with Democrats. The Republican Party has been rocked in the past 12 months by a number of financial and ethical scandals. Most recently, in late September news broke of a sex scandal in which Mark Foley, a Republican Congressman from Florida, engaged in internet sex with school boys working in Congress.

President Bush started the day at his ranch in Texas but flew Air Force One to Washington to monitor election night here.

San Francisco congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, was also in Washington, waiting to learn whether her party would wrest control of the House from Republicans and put her in line to become the first woman speaker of the House in US history.

Associated Press reported that glitches delayed balloting in dozens of Indiana and Ohio precincts, and Illinois officials were swamped with calls from voters complaining that poll workers did not know how to operate new electronic equipment. In Pennsylvania, Lebanon County extended polling hours because of machine problems.

Overall, the US Justice Department said polling complaints were down slightly from 2004 by early afternoon.

Democratic Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, running for re-election with one eye on the 2008 presidential race, voiced her party's campaign mantra, with one qualification.

"I voted for change, except for me," she said, casting her ballot with husband Bill, the former president, in Chappaqua, New York.

Mr Bush, who had campaigned hard for Republican politicians up to the end, switched to civics cheerleader after voting in Texas.

With wife Laura at his side and an "I voted" sticker on his jacket lapel, he said: "No matter what your party affiliation or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty, cast your ballot and let your voice be heard," he said.

The president campaigned energetically to prevent a Democratic sweep, primarily by raising money for Republican candidates. He brought in $US193 million ($248 million) at about 90 fundraisers, most of them party events in Washington or closed candidate receptions. Only at the last did he turn to traditional open campaign rallies, jetting to 15 cities in the final 11 days.

With Mr Bush's approval ratings low and the Iraq war unpopular, Republicans conceded in advance that Democrats would gain at least some seats in Congress as well as in state governor races across the country.

Democrats campaigned on a platform of change, beginning at the top. Of the 33 Senate races on the ballot, 17 were for seats occupied by Democrats and 15 by Republicans, with one held by an independent. But that masked the real story: In both houses, nearly all the competitive seats were in Republican hands and Democrats were on the offensive.

Republican Senators Mike DeWine of Ohio, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Jim Talent of Missouri, George Allen of Virginia and Conrad Burns of Montana struggled through their campaigns against difficult challenges. The Tennessee seat vacated by retiring Majority Leader Bill Frist was also hotly contested.

History worked against the Repuplicans, too. Since World War II, the party in control of the White House has lost an average 31 House seats and six Senate seats in the second midterm election of a president's tenure in office.

Among governorships, New York, Ohio and Massachusetts were among the most likely to swing Democratic, with incumbent Republican governors stepping down in each.

Inevitably, the stirrings of the next campaign were visible in this one. Senator John McCain of Arizona travelled widely this fall, seeking a head start among Republicans looking at the 2008 presidential race. Senator Barack Obama, Democrat from Illinois, who recently said he was considering a 2008 candidacy, did likewise.