Republicans lose at least four seats in Senate

If Chambliss can hold on in Georgia, Democrats would have a difficult path to winning a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Democrats won Senate seats in Virginia and at least three other states Tuesday that had long been in Republican control, putting Democrats on course to make dramatic gains in Congress amid heavy voter turnout and widespread enthusiasm among party members.

The Democratic pickups included two Southern seats that had been in GOP control for more than a generation: Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner easily won his Senate race against Republican Jim Gilmore, while Democratic challenger state Sen. Kay Hagan unseated Sen. Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina. In New Hampshire, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen defeated Sen. John Sununu, and Democrat Tom Udall won an open seat in New Mexico.

In one of the few bright spots for Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fought off a stiff challenge from businessman Bruce Lunsford. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., was narrowly leading his race. If he is able to hold on, Democrats would have a difficult path to winning a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

In the House, early returns showed two Florida Republicans, Tom Feeney and Ric Keller, going down to defeat. Feeney, elected in 2002, had become ensnared in the ongoing federal corruption investigation into imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

With the early wins, Democrats were headed last night for gains of historic proportions two years after retaking Congress. Republicans were on pace to lose at least a half dozen seats in the Senate and 20 or more in the House.

In addition to Dole and Sununu, Gordon Smith of Oregon, Ted Stevens of Alaska and Norm Coleman of Minnesota were among the most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the Senate. The Virginia seat won by Warner is being vacated by longtime Republican Sen. John Warner (no relation), while Udall will take over the New Mexico seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. Udall’s cousin, Mark Udall, was also favored to win a seat in Colorado left open by a retiring Republican.

In the House, a GOP loss of two dozen seats or more would return Democrats to the majority level they held before the Republican “revolution” of 1994, and would give the party their largest gains over two elections since the Great Depression. A 60-seat majority in the Senate would give Democrats their largest representation in that chamber in 30 years.

Along with the Republican presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, congressional Republicans struggled throughout the year to separate themselves from President Bush, who ranks as one of the most unpopular chief executives of the last century and who scrupulously avoided public rallies or fundraisers for McCain or other GOP candidates. But the Republican brand was dragged down further by a worsening economic meltdown that led to a controversial $700 billion rescue plan that further endangered already vulnerable incumbents.

“We’ve only picked up momentum as people have focused on the consequences of the Bush economy,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Democrats — with 49 seats and two allied independents — needed to pick up at least nine vulnerable Republican seats to get to 60 votes, which would allow them to overcome filibusters that block legislation. Democrats have not held 60 seats in the Senate since 1979.

One of the most closely watched races in the House was Connecticut’s 4th District, where Rep. Christopher Shays, a 10-term Republican, lost to Democrat Jim Himes, a former investment banker turned social entrepreneur. Shays survived the Democratic wave in 2006 to become the last remaining Republican in the New England House delegation.

Another high-profile race was in North Carolina, where Rep. Robin Hayes, a five-term Republican, has been trying to fend off a vigorous challenge from Democrat Larry Kissell. A former textile worker who became a high school teacher, Kissell was banking on record African American turnout and the frustration of voters in depressed mill towns to push him to victory over Hayes, an heir to the Cannon textile fortune.

Hayes stepped into controversy last month at a rally in his state for John McCain when he told a crowd that “liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God.”

Tuesday’s elections also included easy wins by many incumbent Senate Democrats, including Richard Durbin of Illinois, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., — the Democratic vice presidential candidate — easily won but is expected to be replaced by another Democrat if he becomes vice president.

Victorious GOP incumbents included Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Susan Collins of Maine.