Republicans sweep US House: Obama's bloody nose

[General Duke]

Opposition Republicans have scored major victories in the country's midterm elections by taking control of the House of Representatives from the Democrats and scoring impressive gains in the Senate.

 

On Tuesday, Republicans captured 60 seats formerly held by Democrats in the House, exceeding the 39 needed to gain a majority. Meanwhile, Democrats picked up only two seats from the conservative party.

 

Following the poll victory, Republican Congressman John Boehner was designated to replace Nancy Pelosi as the speaker of the US House of Representatives.

 

He said the election results were a signal of a growing movement against the ruling administration's policies.

 

"Across the country right now, we are witnessing a repudiation of Washington, a repudiation of big government, and a repudiation of politicians who refuse to listen to the people,'' Boehner said.

 

"But we must remember it is the president who sets the agenda for our government. The American people have sent an unmistakable message to him tonight, and that message is: change course.

 

"We hope President Obama will now respect the will of the people, change course and to commit to making changes that they are demanding."

 

 

Patty Culhane reports on how the economy has been a dominant issue in US elections

Obama called Boehner to congratulate him and said he looked forward to working with him and the Republicans "to find common ground, move the country forward and get things done for the American people,'' the White House said.

 

Boehner told the president that he wanted to collaborate on voters' top priorities by creating jobs and cutting government spending.

 

Senate gains

 

Republicans have also made big gains in the Senate, capturing a net of six seats from Democrats.

 

But the party fell short of the 10 needed to gain control of the upper legislative chamber.

 

Republican congressman Mark Kirk has narrowly defeated state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias to win the Illinois Senate seat, which was held by Obama before his 2008 presidential election.

 

Three-term Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin lost his Senate seat to Republican Ronald Johnson - a significant blow to the more liberal wing of the President's party.

 

Republican Patrick Toomey defeated Joe Sestak for Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter's seat. Dan Coats, a former ambassador to Germany, won an Indiana seat from the Democrats.

 

John Hoeven, North Dakota's Republican governor, won the Senate race there, taking a Democratic seat. And John Boozman has unseated the Democratic candidate in Arkansas.

 

But Democrats held on to their Senate majority by winning key races in Nevada, West Virginia, and California.

 

Democrats won the biggest single race in Nevada, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid defeating Sharron Angle, a favourite of the Tea Party movement.

 

IN DEPTH

 

 

 

Rand Paul, a Senate candidate also backed by the conservative Tea Party movement, won in Kentucky.

 

Senate races in Washington and Alaska are still too close to call.

 

Republicans managed to capture Democratic governorships in at

least 10 states on Tuesday, including some in prime presidential battlegrounds.

 

These states include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Wyoming.

 

Minority candidates

 

The mid-term elections also produced historic results for minority candidates.

 

In New Mexico, Susana Martinez was elected as the nation's first female Hispanic governor.

 

Nikki Haley, whose parents were born in India, will be the first female governor in South Carolina as she replaces Mark Sanford, and Brian Sandoval became Nevada's first Hispanic governor.

 

On the Democratic side, Terri Sewell became the first African-American woman elected to congress in Alabama.

 

Opposition to President Barack Obama's agenda fuelled the Republican surge, and many also connected Obama to the rise of minority Republican candidates.

 

14 black Republicans were on House ballots nationwide, almost double the number in 2008.

 

"Colour is becoming less of an issue,'' said Richard Ivory, a black Republican political consultant and founder of the website hiphoprepublican.com.

 

"There was a time when the white electorate saw race first and made judgements based on this alone. While black Republicans and Obama disagree ideologically, both are candidates whose message surpassed pigment.''

 

Mark Sawyer, a UCLA professor and director of the university's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, said Obama's election pushed the Republicans to adjust to a more diverse electorate by seeking out minority candidates.

 

But he noted that almost all the victorious Republican minorities were elected in majority-white areas and opposed measures such as comprehensive immigration reform that are favoured by many Latinos and blacks.

 

"This election does not show a substantive embrace of a minority agenda,'' Sawyer said.

[General Duke]

[General Duke]