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Government & Politics

Election Wrap: The House

By summer, it was widely expected that the Republican Party would snatch control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats this year, but the extent of the GOP victory was nothing short of historic. Republicans gained at least 60 seats Tuesday, swinging them to a 239-186 majority so far. Ten races are still undecided as of this writing. The results surpassed the 1994 Gingrich Revolution that netted 54 seats and to which this year was frequently compared. In fact, Tuesday’s GOP victory was the largest gain for either party since 71 Democrats were defeated in the 1938 midterms.

The message among the electorate was loud in clear in the House races: Turn out big spenders and yank the speaker’s gavel from Nancy Pelosi’s hands. The Speaker had become a lightning rod in the final weeks of the campaign, and election results demonstrated that the American public had finally tired of her arrogant and far-left “leadership.”

Key to the Republican House victory was targeting vulnerxable freshmen Democrats who rode Obama’s coattails into office two years ago. Several such representatives were elected in 2008 by thin margins in traditionally Republican districts, indicating that their victory was more repudiation of the GOP than embrace of Democrat principles (if there is such a thing). The Democrats’ lukewarm conservative Blue Dog coalition took a huge hit as well. Their ranks were reduced from 54 to 26, with two retirements, two leaving for higher office, and 24 electoral defeats. Of course, only 24 of those 54 voted against ObamaCare, which gives us an idea of just how “conservative” the caucus is.

Other notable defeats for Democrats included Chet Edwards of Texas, Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt of South Carolina, and 17-term fixture Ike Skelton of Missouri, who was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Barney Frank of Massachusetts and John Dingell of Michigan survived hard-fought Republican challenges to their seats, but we can take pleasure in knowing that they will no longer be chairing any committees.

Tom Perriello of Virginia kept the Obama Curse alive by going down to defeat after repeated personal appearances by the president. The president’s personal endorsement also proved fatal in other races. So much for the guy who had boasted to a concerned House Democrat, “Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.”

Election Wrap: The Senate

Republicans fell short of taking the Senate, but they managed to gain at least six seats as of this writing. Republican Dino Rossi has conceded Washington’s Senate race to incumbent Patty Murray, but the contested Alaska seat is sure to remain in Republican hands. There, Democrat Scott McAdams dropped out after coming in a distant third behind current senator and write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski, and Republican primary-winner Joe Miller. It will take time to tally the write-in ballots, but at this point, it seems Murkowski has accomplished the unthinkable.

Notable Republican gains included John Boozman over Democrat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas and Dan Coats over Democrat Brad Ellsworth in Indiana. Russ Feingold was also sent packing by voters in the birthplace of progressivism, Wisconsin.

As in the House, the Tea Party’s contribution to GOP gains was mixed, but mostly positive. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio handily won their contests in Kentucky and Florida, respectively. Conservative Pat Toomey defeated Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania, one of many GOP victories that rocked the Keystone State Tuesday night. In a key symbolic win, moderate Republican Mark Kirk beat Obama basketball buddy Alexi Giannoulias to take the president’s old Illinois seat.

World Wrestling Entertainment mogul Linda McMahon was defeated in Connecticut by Richard “Fighting Dick” Blumenthal, and Leftmedia punching bag Christine O’Donnell lost in Delaware to “bearded Marxist” Chris Coons. Both McMahon and O’Donnell were victims of less-than-enthusiastic support from the state and national Republican apparatus. California voters continued to defy all reason as Carly Fiorina fell short in her bid to unseat the obnoxious Barbara Boxer. In Nevada, Sharron Angle failed to send Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid back to Searchlight.

Reid faced the fight of his political life Tuesday in a state with 15 percent unemployment and a record-high home foreclosure rate. Despite the poor economic conditions and Reid’s longtime Washington insider status, some 11 percent of voters didn’t make up their minds about who to vote for until the weekend before the election. Most of them ended up voting for Reid. Angle drew strong support from voters disappointed with Obama and Washington, but Reid spared no expense in a massive get-out-the-vote campaign that chartered buses to shuttle voters to the polls. Reid’s win may not be great news for Republicans, but his gift for shooting off his mouth or, alternatively, putting his foot in it, will serve its purpose in the battles to come next session.

The outlook for 2012 could be even better for Republicans. Democrats will have to defend 21 seats then, compared to just 10 for Republicans. Several of those 21 Democrats won election for the first time in the Democrat takeover of 2006 and must defend their seats in red states. As they look at losses in Illinois and Wisconsin, Democrat senators from Nebraska, Florida and Missouri must be getting a little nervous.

Election Wrap: The States

Republicans cleaned up on the state level, too, with a net gain of 10 governorships — Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Republicans also picked up more than 650 state legislator pickups across the nation. The GOP now controls both houses of the legislatures of 26 states, and controls the governor’s mansion in 15 of those 26.

That will be an important factor as the run-up to 2012 begins. State legislatures control redistricting, and governors can play key roles in presidential races, turning out voters and donors for candidates visiting their state. This year’s sweep was good timing for the GOP because they are now in position after the 2010 census to re-draw the lines of certain states’ congressional districts advantageously. That could help them preserve their gains in 2012 and perhaps even recapture the White House.

Quote of the Week

“We make a great mistake if we believe that … these results are somehow an embrace of the Republican Party. What they are is a second chance, a second chance for Republicans to be what they said they were going to be not so long ago.” –Senator-elect Marco Rubio (R-FL)