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Tester celebrates his triumph over incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns in the tight-race in Montana. (Reuters) |
WASHINGTON — Democrats have wrestled control of the Senate after a cut-throat race in Virginia, securing a majority in both chambers of Congress and dealing President George W. Bush the biggest defeat of his political career.
Democrat Jim Webb defeated Republican incumbent George Allen in Virginia's tight Senate race, according to NBC and CBS television projections.
In Montana, Democratic candidate Jon Tester defeated incumbent Republican Senator Conrad Burns by fewer than 5,000 votes, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
But Burns refused to concede his defeat, citing some uncounted votes, media reported.
If a recount is ordered, it could take until the end of the month to get the result that will decide the future of the Senate.
With Virginia and Montana, Democrats control 49 Senate seats plus two held by pro-Democrat independents, while the Republicans have 49.
In a 50-50 vote split, Vice President Dick Cheney would cast the deciding vote in debates.
The Democrats already had won about 30 seats to take control of the 435-member House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections.
The triumph gave the Democrats a complete majority in both the upper and lower houses of Congress for the first time in 12 years.
The Democrats have not controlled the House since 1994 and have not been in the majority in the Senate since a brief period in 2002.
The Democrats also won six governors' seats to take the majority of the 50 statehouses for the first time in 12 years.
Bush's Misery
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| Democrats have handed Bush the biggest defeat of his political career. (Reuters) |
In sweeping both chambers of Congress, Democrats have handed Bush the biggest defeat of his political career and set the stage for a tumultuous two years ahead of the 2008 presidential election.
Bush acknowledged the Republican losses over the public disgust with his Iraq policies.
"I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made there," he told a press conference on Wednesday.
Bush also announced the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, replacing him with former CIA director Robert Gates.
Exit polls showed that voters' anger over the course of the war in Iraq and a heap of scandals which have tainted the Republicans in the past two years.
The decisive verdict could mean a major headache for the final two years of Bush's presidency if Democrats make good on their vow to use their new found power to hold hearings on the conduct of the war in Iraq, the slow response to devastating Hurricane Katrina last year, and other issues.
"The American people have spoken clearly and decisively in favor of Democrats leading this country in a new direction," Senate minority leader Harry Reid said in a statement after news that Democrats had seized the upper chamber.
"From changing course in Iraq to raising the minimum wage to fixing the health care crisis to making this country energy independent, we're ready to get to work," Reid said.
The Democrats now have the authority to hold hearings and investigations and to issue subpoenas compelling witnesses to testify, potentially embarrassing to the White House.
Besides taking the leadership of the two houses, Democrats will take over the powerful committees charged with reviewing and endorsing legislation, from the foreign relations to budget panels.
That will empower them to set the legislative agenda.
Democrats say they would quickly introduce long-stalled bills to raise the minimum wage for the first time in a decade, put new homeland security measures in place and control a runaway US budget deficit.
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