Republicans win House & Democrats keep Senate

WASHINGTON: Opposition Republicans delivered a stinging blow to President Barack Obama, capturing control of the House of Representatives in election results tallied Wednesday. They made big gains also in the Senate but fell short of a majority.

The Republican gains usher in an era of divided government for the United States. Obama will have to deal with a more conservative Congress, which will include members of the antiestablishment tea party movement.
Television networks projected Republicans would pick up at least 50 House seats, more than the 39 they need for a majority that would elevate conservative John Boehner to House speaker, place Republicans in charge of House committees and slam the brakes on Obama’s agenda.

Biggest shift in power

It was the biggest shift in power at least since Republicans gained 54 House seats in 1994 when Democrat Bill Clinton was in the White House.
“Our new majority will be prepared to do things differently,” Boehner told supporters at a Washington hotel. “It starts with cutting spending instead of increasing it, reducing the size of government instead of increasing it, and reforming the way Congress works.”
Obama called Republican leaders early Wednesday to congratulate them on their midterm election victories and to promise to try to find “common ground” with them after a bruising campaign season.
The White House and incoming House Speaker Boehner said the president called the Ohio Republican to offer congratulations on the Republicans’ regaining control of the House. Boehner said he promised to be honest with Obama and the two agreed to work together, even though Republicans campaigned on vows to turn back much of Obama’s agenda.
During what Boehner described as a brief but pleasant midnight conversation, the two discussed working together on the electorate’s priorities. Boehner said he defined those as cutting spending and creating jobs.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid pulled out a win in the country’s most high-profile Senate race after a brutal battle with Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle in Nevada.

Probable legislative gridlock

Democrats also won key Senate races in West Virginia and California, where Senator Barbara Boxer won re-election, ensuring Democrats would retain at least a slender Senate majority.
Republican control of the House will likely spark legislative gridlock, weakening Obama’s hand in fights over the extension of soon-to-expire income-tax cuts and the passage of comprehensive energy or immigration bills.
“The ability of this administration to get major new programs done was already limited. This just seals the deal,” said Jaret Seiberg, policy analyst with the investment advisory firm, Washington Research Group.
U.S. stock futures pulled back from earlier gains as Republican chances of a Senate takeover waned. With opinion polls favoring Republicans, markets had factored in Republicans winning the House and Democrats holding the Senate.
Investors said the outcome of Wednesday’s U.S. Federal Reserve meeting was of greater market importance. The Fed is expected to announce it will pump billions into the economy to speed the recovery.
All 435 House seats, 37 of the 100 Senate seats, and 37 of the 50 state governorships were at stake in Tuesday’s voting.
Democrats had battled a difficult political climate all year, with stubbornly high unemployment and a growing budget deficit fueling voter anger at government in Washington. They were also fighting history — the party that holds the White House traditionally loses seats in a midterm election.

Worries over economy

Exit polls found voters were deeply worried about the economy, with eight in every 10 voters saying it was a chief concern. Four of every 10 voters said they supported the Tea Party, and nearly three-quarters believed government did not function properly. The Republican rout extended from coast-to-coast and knocked at least 30 Democratic incumbents out of the House, including veterans Ike Skelton, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and John Spratt, chairman of the Budget Committee.
In the Senate, Republicans picked up Democratic seats in Indiana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Arkansas as well as Obama’s former seat in Illinois. Democrats held the late Robert Byrd’s seat in West Virginia, Boxer won in California and Reid won in Nevada.
Florida Republican Marco Rubio and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul became the first Tea Party-backed candidates to win Senate seats, ensuring an influx of conservative views in the staid chamber. Another Tea Party favorite, Republican Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, lost her race.
Grass-roots anger over government spending and economic weakness gave rise to the Tea Party, a loosely organized conservative movement that backed a message of smaller government and lower taxes.
“It’s a message that I will carry with me on day one. It’s a message of fiscal sanity. It’s a message of limited constitutional government and balanced budgets,” Paul told supporters in Kentucky.

Picking up governorships

Republicans picked up at least 10 governorships from Democrats, including the battleground state of Ohio, and held the office in Texas in a race with vital implications for the once-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts that begins next year.
Democrat Jerry Brown won in California in the race to succeed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Obama will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) on Wednesday to talk about the post-election landscape.
Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said no significant legislation would pass without input from Republicans. “We need to move beyond filibusters and enter a real conversation about passing legislation that this country needs,” he told Reuters.
Republican candidates had pushed an agenda of spending cuts and at least a partial repeal of Obama’s healthcare and Wall Street reforms, but Obama could veto their efforts.
Stocks in health insurers like UnitedHealth Group Inc, WellPoint Inc and Aetna Inc are likely to rise on Republican gains, analysts said, even if a full repeal of healthcare reform is unlikely.
Voters on Tuesday also weighed in on a variety of topics: in California, for example, CNN projected they rejected a measure that would legalize possession of marijuana.

Source: AlArabiya.net