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Bush
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With
Additional Reporting By Dina Rashed, IOL U.S. Correspondent
WASHINGTON,
November 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Republicans seized full
control of the U.S. Congress Wednesday, November 6, in a stunning
election triumph for President George W. Bush that strengthened his hand
to pursue his conservative agenda, including his hard-line policy on
Iraq.
The
president's party wrested control of the Senate from the opposition
Democrats and increased its majority in the House of Representatives,
according to television projections and preliminary returns from
Tuesday's midterm elections, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
Republicans were also buoyed by the reelection of Jeb Bush, the
president's brother, as governor of Florida.
Democrats,
however, seemed poised to erase the Republicans' 27-21 advantage in
state governorships after scoring key gains in large states such as
Pennsylvania, Illinois and Michigan among the 36 governorships up for
grabs.
Republicans
had picked up at least 21 of the 34 contested Senate seats giving them
50 of the 100 seats, according to media forecasts.
The
Democrats won 10, giving them 46.
There
is one independent and three races still undecided.
Republican
control of the Senate -- and the full Congress -- became clear when
Democratic Senator Jean Carnahan conceded defeat to Republican
challenger Jim Talent in Missouri.
It
was one of four races that had been judged too close to call for hours
after voting ended.
A
runoff vote was to be held December 7 in Louisiana after incumbent
Democrat Mary Landrieu failed to get a majority of votes against eight
challengers.
Races
in Minnesota and South Dakota were too close to call.
However,
barring any surprises, even Democratic wins in those races will not
change the new balance of power in the Senate.
Democrats
had sought to woo voters preoccupied with the floundering U.S. economy
and possible war against Iraq to maintain or increase their one-seat
majority in the 100-seat Senate and win seats in the 435-member House of
Representatives.
In
the House, with seven races deemed too close to call, the Republicans
appear to have clinched 226 seats -- eight more than the 218 needed to
control the body -- while the Democrats had 201, with one independent,
according to news network projections.
But
regaining control of the Senate, where the Democrats until recently held
a one-seat majority, and thus the entire legislative branch was the
clear prize for Bush as it will cement his efforts to make a mammoth
10-year tax cut permanent; speed federal funds to religious charities;
and appoint conservative judges.
The
White House said Bush had been "cautiously optimistic" about
Republican control over the Senate but trumpeted the fact that he had
"made history" by bucking the historical trend in which the
party in the White House loses seats in the House of Representatives.
Clearly
discouraged, senior Democratic party officials insisted that they had
not done so badly, sticking with their prediction that it would have a
majority of the nation's governorships for the first time in 10 years by
the end of the night.
But
with six races too close to call, it was still unclear which party would
come out with more governorships.
This
is the first time since 1934 that the president's party gained in the
off-year elections of his first term, the GOP’s success would then
mark a reversal of historic trends where traditionally the party in
control of the White House typically loses seats in the midterm races.
Many
analysts suggest that the Republican’s success is due in part to the
massive campaigning effort of the President especially in the past five
weeks, as he toured 23 states.
With
Bush's approval rating in the 60 percent range, the White House has
increasingly expressed optimism about the Republicans’ performance in
the election.
In
Illinois, the three main candidates for the governor’s seat, the State
Attorney and the U.S. Senate who were endorsed by the United Muslim
American Association, a politically active organization in Chicago, lost
to their opponents.
All
three candidates were Republicans and UMAA has stated several times that
they have an open door policy when it comes to the issues of concern to
the Muslim and Arab community.
Rep.
Rod Blagojevich captured the statehouse for the Democrats for the first
time in more than a quarter century.
