Turnovers In Senate Kill GOP
Democrats turned in a strong performance in Senate races Tuesday by unseating GOP incumbents in New York and North Carolina and winning in California.
With all of the 34 races decided, neither party gained any seats. That was a victory for the Democrats since most analysts expected the Republicans to pick up 1-3 seats in the off-year election. But the GOP will continue to have 55 seats to the Democrats' 45 seats.
GOP incumbents were defeated in New York and North Carolina. Veteran GOP Sen. Al D'Amato lost to Democrat Charles Schumer in New York. Exit poll data showed that many voters believed D'Amato had been in office too long.
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In North Carolina, conservative incumbent Lauch Faircloth, a protege of Sen. Jesse Helms, was defeated by John Edwards, a wealthy Democratic lawyer.
The Democrats also got good news in South Carolina, where Democratic incumbent Fritz Hollings surprised some Republicans by holding on for a close victory over GOP Congressman Bob Inglis.
A strong turnout by black voters was the key to the Democratic victories in the Carolinas. In North Carolina, Edwards received 90 percent of the black vote.
On the West Coast, two Democratic women triumphed. California Sen. Barbara Boxer was elected to a second term. She withstood a challenge from Republican Matt Fong.
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Also, Democrat Patty Murray retained her Washington state Senate seat.
But in Illinois, Republican challenger Peter Fitzgerald defeated Democratic Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun by rolling up strong support in Republican suburbs and among downstate voters. Moseley-Braun was the first black woman ever to serve in the Senate.
In Wisconsin, Democratic incumbent Sen. Russell Feingold defeated well-financed Republican challenger Mark Neuman. And, in a close race, Nevada Democratic incumbent Harry Reid retained his seat.
The GOP picked up a Democratic seat in Ohio, where George Voinovich won John Glenn's seat for the Republicans. The Republicans also held their Senate seats in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
In other results, there was a pickup for the Democrats in Indiana. As expected, Democrat Evan Bayh, son of former Sen. Birch Bayh, captured the Indiana seat being relinquished by Republican Sen. Dan Coats.
Democrats kept their open Arkansas seat but lost their open seat in Kentucky. Republicans held their open seat in Idaho.
Throughout the campaign, many Democratic candidates spoke about preserving Social Security and boosting education, while many Republicans discussed tax cuts and shifting power from Washington to ocal governments.
Exit polls suggested the voters were more concerned about issues raised by the Democrats.
As usual, Republicans had a big cash advantage over their Democratic rivals. Through mid-October, the National Republican Senatorial Committee reported raising $78.2 million compared with $48.6 million for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
In addition, labor unions, environmental groups, business organizations, the National Rifle Association and others poured millions of additional dollars into Senate races.