US Elections 2010: America votes..

 

US Elections 2010: America votes

US Republicans have seized the House of Representatives in mid-term elections, dealing a severe blow to President Barack Obama's ability to pass laws.

On a tide of economic unease, they won at least 57 of the 435 House seats.
However, Mr Obama's Democrats narrowly retained control of the Senate, despite losing six seats, including some to candidates backed by the Tea Party.
The president phoned John Boehner, the likely new House speaker, to say he hoped to "find common ground" with him.
Speaking after his own re-election, Mr Boehner vowed to cut spending and reduce the size of government. He said voters had sent Mr Obama a message to "change course".
Compounding the misery for Mr Obama's camp, a Republican captured the president's old Senate seat in Illinois.
But in Nevada, one of the most dramatic contests of the night, Democratic veteran Harry Reid fought off Tea Party challenger Sharron Angle. US Senator John Kerry reacted with delight: "Harry Reid isn't just Dracula, he isn't just Lazarus, he's our leader and our whole caucus is thrilled that he's unbreakable and unbeatable."
While some of the Tea Party's most eccentric candidates lost their races, the conservative wing of the Republican Party is now a power in the land, BBC North America editor Mark Mardell reports.
Republicans took voters' distress over the stubborn jobless rate and stalled economy and turned it into a sweeping takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, while Democrats were able to hang onto their majority in the Senate, though in smaller numbers.
With results still coming in, the extent of the Republican takeover of the 435-member House was still to be determined. But CNN projected that Republicans would win at least 60 more House seats than they currently hold to wipe out the Democratic majority of the past four years.
President Barack Obama called House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio to congratulate him. They had a brief but pleasant conversation, according to Boehner's aides. The two discussed working together to focus on the top priorities of the American people, which Boehner has identified as creating jobs and cutting spending. Boehner thanked the president for the call.
Republican candidates also were running strong in governors' races, while Democrats were guaranteed of holding at least 50 of the 100 Senate seats with a handful of close races still outstanding, according to the projections based on CNN's analysis of exit poll data.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, retained his Senate seat by defeating Republican Sharron Angle, a Tea Party favorite.
An energized conservative electorate, fueled by the anti-establishment Tea Party movement that emerged in 2009, helped Republicans to what could be their biggest gain in congressional elections in decades
"It's clear tonight who the real winners are, and it's the American people," said Boehner, who is expected to become House Speaker in January when the new GOP majority takes over.
"With their voices, the American people are demanding a new way forward in Washington," Boehner said, calling for conservative policies favored by the Tea Party such as cutting spending and reducing the size of government.
Tea Party-backed Republicans Rand Paul in Kentucky and Marco Rubio in Florida won their Senate races, while another GOP candidate, John Boozman, will defeat incumbent Democrat Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, according to the projections.
In Indiana, conservative Republican Dan Coats was the projected winner to take over the Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Evan Bayh, while the GOP's Ron Johnson toppled Democratic incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin. The projected victories by Coats, Boozman, Johnson and John Hoeven in North Dakota gave Republicans four pick-ups in the Senate.
However, Democrat Chris Coons was the projected winner over Republican Christine O'Donnell, another Tea Party-supported candidate, in Delaware's Senate race for the seat formerly held for decades by Vice President Joe Biden. In Connecticut, Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will defeat Republican Linda McMahon, the former professional wrestling executive, for the Senate seat held by retiring Democrat Chris Dodd.
Another big Democratic victory came in West Virginia, where Gov. Joe Manchin was projected to win the Senate seat formerly held by the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, who died earlier this year.
The projected victories by Coons, Manchin and Blumenthal were vital for the Democrats' chances to retain their majority in the Senate.
But Obama's former Senate seat in Illinois went to Republican Mark Kirk, who defeated Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.
Whatever the final make-up of the Senate, it will include no African-American members. The only current African-American senator, Roland Burris of Illinois, is retiring, and none of the three African-American candidates won on Tuesday.
Both Paul, the son of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, and O'Donnell rode Tea Party support to defeat mainstream Republican candidates in their GOP primaries.
Paul's projected victory to claim the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Jim Bunning showed the influence of the movement that emerged in 2009 in opposition to expanded government and the growing federal deficit.