Democrats Look For A Sweep

Democrats captured control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, according to CBS News estimates, and made big strides towards taking over the Senate.

In Missouri, Democrat Claire McCaskill was projected the winner over Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Talent early Wednesday morning, in one of the last undecided Senate races.

Control of the Senate now hinges on Montana and Virginia, which remain too close to call.

Democrats must win both of those races to take over the Senate. If they were to win one seat, it would produce a 50-50 Senate – including two independents expected to vote with the Democrats – with Vice President Dick Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.

In Virginia, the race between Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen and Democrat James Webb appeared likely to be decided by absentee ballots. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, Webb had a lead of about 2,300 votes, with 100 percent of precincts reporting results.

In Montana, Democrat Jim Tester held a 9,000 vote lead over GOP Sen. Conrad Burns with 60 percent of precincts reporting results.

On the House side, Democrats will win at least 25 Republican-held seats, more than the 15 they needed to take over the House for the first time since 1994.

"We are on the brink of a great Democratic victory," said Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who's in line to become the country's first female House speaker.

"It's been kind of rough out there," conceded the top House Republican, Speaker Dennis Hastert, who won an 11th two-year term.

So far, Democrats have not lost a single seat in the House or Senate.

Democrats earlier picked up three of the six Senate seats — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — they needed to form a majority.

One big Senate contest went to the Republicans, with Bob Corker the estimated winner over Democratic Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., in Tennessee.

Exit polls showed voters perceived the battle for the House as a nationalized election, with most voters saying national issues outweighed local ones.

Most said President Bush was a factor in their vote, and more cast ballots to oppose him than to support him. Most voters said they were angry or dissatisfied with the administration.

A majority of voters, 56 percent, said they disapproved of the war in Iraq. As expected, voters who supported the war backed Republicans and those who disapproved of it backed Democrats.

"It is all about the president and the war in Iraq," said CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer.

Most voters said they had made up their minds about their votes last month or before.

"We're seeing a huge turn in independent voters to the Democrats," said CBS News political consultant Stu Rothenberg. "National exit polls show a significant advantage for Democratic candidates."

In Pennsylvania, Sen. Rick Santorum, the No. 3 Republican in the Senate and one of its most conservative members, was a projected loser after two terms to Bob Casey Jr., the state treasurer. In Ohio, Sen. Mike DeWine lost to Democrat Rep. Sherrod Brown, a congressman strongly opposed to free-trade agreements, CBS News estimates.

In Rhode Island, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse was the projected winner over Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

Democrats were projected to hold two Senate seats they were in danger of losing, with Sen. Robert Menendez winning reelection in New Jersey and Rep. Ben Cardin winning a vacant Senate seat in Maryland.

In the comeback story of the night, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who ran as a third-party candidate after losing to businessman Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary, will defeat Lamont in the general election, CBS News estimates.

In a close contest in Arizona, CBS News estimates Republican Sen. Jon Kyl will hold his seat.

On the House side, Republican incumbents went down in nearly every region of the country. Three GOP congressmen were projected losers in Indiana, two in New Hampshire and one in North Carolina. Also, a Democrat won an open seat in Arizona.

Ethics woes were clearly taking their toll on the GOP.

Republicans surrendered the Ohio seat once held by Bob Ney, who resigned after pleading guilty in a lobbying scandal, and the Florida seat of Mark Foley, who stepped down after the disclosure that he sent sexually explicit messages to male congressional pages.

In Pennsylvania, Democrats defeated Curt Weldon in the fallout from a federal corruption investigation. They also ousted Don Sherwood, who admitted to a long-term affair with a much younger woman who says he choked her.

History worked against the GOP, too. Since World War II, the party in control of the White House has lost an average of 31 House seats and six Senate seats in the second midterm election of a president's tenure in office.

President Bush was at the White House, awaiting returns that would determine whether he would have to contend with divided government during his final two years in office.

Voting at sunrise, Mr. Bush switched from partisan campaigner to democracy's cheerleader as he implored Americans of all political leanings to cast ballots. ( Watch the video.)

"We live in a free society, and our government is only as good as the willingness of our people to participate," said Mr. Bush, his wife, Laura, at his side and an "I Voted" sticker on the lapel of his brown suede jacket. "Therefore, no matter what your party affiliation or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty, cast your ballot and let your voice be heard."

The election results pose a difficult challenge for the president.

"The challenge is that almost all moderate Republicans in the House and even some in the Senate are wiped out," said CBS News political consultant Norm Ornstein. "If you move to the middle, there are some Republicans you'll have to convince to move with you. Bush will also have to work with Democratic leaders who don't like him and don't trust him. And the feeling is mutual."

Despite the Democrats' victory, Pelosi also faces a tough job ahead.

"The margin of victory could be very small. We're not seeing the tsunami that was predicted," said CBS News political consultant Dotty Lynch. "A win is a win, and the party in power can pick the important chairman of committees. But a lot of the Democrats elected are conservative Democrats, so that complicates things. The job of the majority leader will be complicated."

Several veteran senators coasted to new terms, including Republicans Orrin Hatch in Utah, Richard Lugar in Indiana, Trent Lott in Mississippi and Olympia Snowe in Maine; Kay Bailey Hutchison in Texas, Craig Thomas in Wyoming; and Democrats Robert C. Byrd in West Virginia; Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts; Tom Carper in Delaware; Debbie Stabenow in Michigan; Herb Kohl in Wisconsin; Jeff Bingaman in New Mexico, Ben Nelson in Nebraska and Kent Conrad in North Dakota and John Ensign in Nevada.

In Florida, Bill Nelson thumped former secretary of state Katherine Harris to win a second term.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton coasted to a second Democratic term in New York, winning roughly 70 percent of the vote in a warm-up to a possible run for the White House in 2008.

Democrats also won a majority of the statehouses, including Massachusetts, where Deval Patrick becomes the state's first black chief executive.

In Ohio, Rep. Ted Strickland defeated Republican Ken Blackwell with ease to become the state's first Democratic governor in 16 years. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer won the New York governor's race in a landslide.

Charlie Crist, who snubbed President Bush at a campaign rally Monday, was a rare bright spot for Republicans, winning the Florida governorship now held by the president's brother Jeb. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a new term in California, the nation's most populous state.

Voters also filled state legislative seats and decided hundreds of statewide ballot initiatives. In South Dakota, a measure that would ban nearly all abortions in the state was voted down.

Voters in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin approved bans on same-sex marriage. South Dakota, Arizona, Colorado and Idaho also had the issue on the ballot.

Arizona voters approved four measures targeting illegal immigrants, including one that makes English the state's official language.

About a third of voters nationwide were using new equipment, and problems in several states were reported right out of the gate. The government deployed a record number of poll watchers to the many competitive races across the country.

Overall, the Justice Department said polling complaints were down slightly from 2004 by early afternoon.