Daschle ousted as GOP strengthens grip on both houses of Congress

WASHINGTON – Republicans strengthened their hold on the Senate Tuesday, capturing a handful of… WASHINGTON – Republicans strengthened their hold on the Senate Tuesday, capturing a handful of Southern Democratic seats and sending Democratic leader Tom Daschle to defeat, the first party leader to lose his Senate seat in 52 years.

The GOP also expanded its grip on the House of Representatives by at least five seats, winning redrawn districts in Texas. Republicans currently hold a 227-205 majority with one independent who votes Democratic and two vacancies.

In the Senate, Republicans won formerly Democratic seats in North and South Carolina, Louisiana and Georgia. In Florida, Republican Mel Martinez, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, claimed victory, but Democrat Betty Castor did not concede.

A Republican sweep of all five states would further solidify a political realignment across the South that began when Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1965.

The Republican victories also would give the Senate a more conservative cast, making it less of a check on the more ideological, Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But Tuesday’s victories could also give the Senate the biggest minority representation ever, with one African-American and potentially two Hispanics.

Democrats had a chance to offset some of the Republican gains. They won formerly Republican seats in Illinois and Colorado, and Republican Lisa Murkowski was in a pitched battle to retain her seat from Alaska.

Southern states promoted four Republican members of the House of Representatives to the Senate. They were U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint in South Carolina, U.S. Rep. Richard Burr in North Carolina and U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson in Georgia and David Vitter in Louisiana.

In Kentucky, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher whose unpredictable behavior gave Democrats hope for an upset, escaped a scare and pulled out a narrow win. Former U.S. Rep. Tom Coburn kept Oklahoma, another potential tossup, in Republican hands.

Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the Senate, 51-48, with one independent who tends to vote with Democrats.

From the outset, the political landscape this election year favored Republicans. Of 34 Senate seats up for election, Republicans had to defend 15 this year, and Democrats 19. More Democrats also faced tough races, and only nine Senate seats in all were truly in play. With control of the Senate at stake, these races broke fund-raising records and made this election the most expensive in history.

The South offered Republicans their best hope for gains. Senate retirements by Democrats Ernest Hollings from South Carolina, Zell Miller in Georgia and John Kerry’s running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, gave Republicans their best shots.

Florida and Louisiana are more difficult Southern challenges for Republicans, but retirements there by incumbent Democratic Sens. Bob Graham of Florida and John Breaux of Louisiana gave the GOP openings for pickups as well.

But Republican retirements in Illinois and Colorado gave Democrats an outside chance to regain control of the Senate.

In winning House seats in Texas, Republicans defeated such Democratic stalwarts as Martin Frost and Charles Stenholm. The only significant loss for House Republicans was the defeat of Rep. Phil Crane of Illinois.

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Tuesday’s results promised to introduce new Republican and Democratic stars to the Washington firmament.

Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois had been virtually assured a victory for months and has already been lending his telegenic appeal and donating excess campaign funds to other Democrats. Obama, the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, would become the only African-American in the Senate.

In Colorado, Democratic State Attorney General Ken Salazar defeated Republican beer magnate Peter Coors for the seat vacated by Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. If Martinez wins in Florida, he and Salazar would be the first two Hispanics in the Senate since 1977.

Republican John Thune toppled Daschle in South Dakota, and was hailed as a giant killer. Two years ago, Thune barely lost his challenge to the state’s other Democratic senator, Tim Johnson.

Though Daschle won his 1998 race with 62 percent of the vote, his leadership of Senate Democrats and his dalliance with a presidential run this year moved him to the left and alienated voters in his Republican-leaning state. Daschle was seeking his fourth term in the Senate.

Senate seats in play:

CURRENT REPUBLICAN

Illinois: Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate and state senator, had a virtually free run at the Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Obama faced a potentially tough contest until his opponent, Republican Wall Street investment banker Jack Ryan, withdrew in the face of reports about his personal life. Obama then faced conservative talk-show host Alan Keyes, who never mustered much support.

Oklahoma: This race pitted two congressional veterans against one another, and the TV networks declared Coburn the winner over Democratic Rep. Brad Carson. The seat became vacant when Sen. Don Nickles, an influential conservative, announced his resignation.

Alaska: Murkowski, appointed by her father to fill his unexpired term when he was elected governor, is facing a tough challenge from former two-term Gov. Tony Knowles. Murkowski has been saddled with her father’s poor standing with voters. Many of her campaign placards state, simply, “LISA.”

Kentucky: Bunning had been considered a safe bet for re-election, but his erratic behavior – such as saying his opponent, Don Mongiardo, resembled one of Saddam Hussein’s sons – and his efforts to avoid a face-to-face debate with him gave the Democrats a chance, but Bunning held on.

CURRENT DEMOCRATIC

Florida: Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez, the Republican, faces former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor.

North Carolina: Edwards decided not to seek re-election, preferring to run for president instead. Burr defeated former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.

South Carolina: Hollings’ retirement left the seat open and DeMint made several missteps that threw a scare into his supporters, but ultimately the Republican defeated Democrat Inez Tenenbaum, the state superintendent of schools.

Georgia: Retiring Sen. Zell Miller, a conservative Democrat who voted with Republicans and endorsed President Bush, retired to open the seat for a Republican gain by Isakson.

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(c) 2004, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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