Dem Star Wins Ill. Senate Seat

Majority Republicans pocketed an open Democratic Senate seat in Georgia but lost one to a Democratic newcomer in Illinois.

Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and American mother who rose from obscurity to political stardom in mere months, trounced Republican Alan Keyes on Tuesday to claim a Senate seat in Illinois. He will be just the third black senator since Reconstruction.

In a race where Democrats had long touted their chances, former Republican Rep. Tom Coburn prevailed in Oklahoma. It was one of eight states with no incumbent on the ballot — key to the overall struggle between the two parties.

Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter sailed to victory for a fifth term.

Most veteran lawmakers of both parties coasted to new terms after campaigns against little-known and poorly funded opponents.

In Arizona, Republican John McCain easily won a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

McCain faced an underdog challenge from Democrat Stuart Starky, an eighth-grade math teacher, and Libertarian restaurant owner Ernest Hancock.

Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley won his fifth term, handily defeating Democrat Art Small. And in Hawaii, Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye won his eighth consecutive term, easily turning back a challenge from former state legislator Cam Cavasso.

But there were exceptions — prominently so.

Democratic Leader Tom Daschle faced stiff competition for a new term in South Dakota, where former Rep. John Thune mounted a challenge.

In Florida, Republican Mel Martinez, a former member of President George W. Bush's Cabinet, was bidding to become the first Cuban-American senator. He was locked in a close race for a seat held by a retiring Democrat.

Republican Rep. Johnny Isakson, a five-year veteran of the House, easily defeated Rep. Denise Majette in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Zell Miller did not seek re-election.

Among incumbents, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont coasted to a sixth term and Evan Bayh of Indiana a second. Both are Democrats. In Ohio, Republican George Voinovich defeated Democratic challenger Eric Fingerhut.

But another incumbent, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, trailed challenger Dan Mongiardo in early returns. Interviews with voters leaving their polling places pointed to a highly competitive race.

Republicans hold 51 seats in the current Senate. Democrats have 48, along with the support of independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont. A combination of factors — the Constitution, the calendar and the presidential race among them — Republicans need 50 seats to hold control, and Democrats must gain 51 to take it away.

Obama, 43, had no difficulty dispatching Alan Keyes, a black conservative whose outspoken views against abortion and homosexuality earned the disdain from some members of his own party. Even so, the Democratic state legislator's victory in a race to replace Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald capped a remarkable rise. He first gained national prominence this summer when his party's presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, tapped him to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

Isakson, who replaced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Congress in 1999, coasted to victory in Georgia. He triumphed over Rep. Denise Majette in a campaign to replace Sen. Zell Miller — a Democrat who crossed party lines to deliver a memorably anti-Kerry speech at the Republican National Convention.

Most of the competitive races unfolded in states where veteran lawmakers retired, each party drawing hope from the lineup.

Rep. Jim DeMint took South Carolina and Rep. Richard Burr soon followed suit in North Carolina. In each case, Democratic retirements induced ambitious young Republican members of Congress to give up safe House seats to risk a run for the Senate.

Overall, ticket-splitting was key to the Democrats' chances — Kerry made little or no effort against President Bush in seven of the nine states with the most competitive Senate races.

North Carolina, where Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards gave up his seat, was one of them. Edwards made calls to radio stations serving black audiences during the day in hopes of keeping the seat in Democratic hands.

In Florida, with votes tallied in roughly 40 percent of the precincts, former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, who is Cuban-born, was in a tight race with Betty Castor, a former state senator.

Republicans who won new terms included Sens. Richard Shelby of Alabama, Kit Bond of Missouri, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, George Voinovich of Ohio, Sam Brownback of Kansas and John McCain of Arizona.

McCain's victory meant he was in line to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee if Republicans held the Senate.

Among Democratic incumbents, Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Russell Feingold of Wisconsin and Charles Schumer of New York won new terms.

In all, there were 34 seats on the ballot, 19 held by Republicans and 15 by Democrats.

Multimillion dollar campaigns were commonplace in the most contested races, and the Daschle-Thune race set the pace.

Through mid-October, Daschle had spent about $16 million in his quest for a fourth term in a sparsely settled state. Thune's expenditures reached $10 million.

When it came to personal attacks, the Kentucky race was hard to match. Democrats ran television commercials questioning Bunning's mental fitness for office. His allies, in turn, openly speculated about Mongiardo's sexual orientation.