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Republicans retain control of Senate
Republicans renewed their grip on the Senate Tuesday night and reached out for more, capturing a string of Democratic seats across the South. Democratic leader Tom Daschle faced a strong challenge in South Dakota. Democratic State Sen. Barack Obama, a political star in the making, easily captured a seat formerly in Republican hands in Illinois, and will be the only black among 100 senators when the new Congress convenes in January. "I am fired up," he told cheering supporters in Illinois. But Republicans did most of the celebrating in the Senate as well as the House, where they marched steadily toward renewed control. Rep. Johnny Isakson claimed Georgia for the Republicans, and Rep. Jim DeMint took South Carolina. Rep. Richard Burr soon followed suit in North Carolina. In each case, Democratic retirements induced ambitious lawmakers to give up safe House seats to risk a run for the Senate. GOP candidates mounted strong challenges in two more southern states where Democrats stepped down. In Florida, former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez held a narrow lead over Betty Castor, a former state legislator, with votes counted in more than 90 percent of the precincts. In Louisiana, Republican Rep. David Vitter led several Democratic rivals comfortably with more than 90 percent of the precincts counted, and flirted with an outright majority that would allow him to avoid a Dec. 4 runoff. Posted by: Fred 2004-11-03 |
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