Triumphant GOP looks to form new agenda for Capitol

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and his party savored sweeping midterm election victories Wednesday and began sketching an agenda for a new, Republican-controlled Congress.

"I'm excited to be able to be on offense," said Republican Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the once and future Senate majority leader. He said GOP priorities will include a new Homeland Security Department as well as targeted tax cuts to help the economy. He added that Bush's judicial nominees could expect speedier review.

Bush made no public remarks during the day, and aides said he wanted to avoid giving the appearance of gloating. "There's a lot more to do and the president looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans to do it," said his spokesman, Ari Fleischer.

Republicans were assured of 51 seats in the new Senate, a gain of two. Democrats had 47 and the support of one independent. One race remained in doubt, in Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu will face Republican Suzanne Terrell in a December runoff.

In the House, Republicans had 227 seats -- a gain of four -- and led for one more. Democrats had 203, and led for three. There was one independent.

Republicans defied expectations in a year when analysts and GOP officials thought Democrats would take back governorships in most states.

Despite a weak economy and budget shortfalls, Republicans won well over half the gubernatorial races and can expect to do no worse than a 25-25 tie with Democrats nationwide. Controlling a state's top office is generally thought to help a party during presidential election years: it also gives the party a platform for shaping domestic policy.

Democrats' hopes of achieving an even split hung on results in Alabama.

This year's midterm congressional election apparently attracted more voters than the last one, in 1998, according to a survey on voter turnout.

Curtis Gans, director of the independent Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, estimated Tuesday's turnout at 78.5 million, more than 39 percent of voting-age citizens. In the 1998 elections, the figure was 37.6 percent -- the lowest midterm turnout since 1942.

Making history

The elections marked a remarkable triumph for Republicans, who bucked history to gain seats in a midterm election in which they held the White House.

"I think you have to give an awful lot of credit to the president of the United States," said Lott. "He put his prestige on the line and I think it made a huge difference in this election."

One Republican polling firm circulated the results of an election-night survey that made the same point, saying that late-deciding voters gave Bush higher approval ratings than the country at large -- and that support for the president was higher, still, among voters in the pivotal House districts where the battle for control was settled.

Democrats conceded the obvious. "This was one tough night," Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said on the morning after, appearing on NBC's "Today" show.

And some party activists grumbled about the party's leadership. "There wasn't any unified message," said David Worley, former chairman of the party in Georgia. "I think the national leadership did a miserable job of giving a theme to the election."

New Jersey represented a political victory for Democrats, who prevailed in a court case to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the ballot even though the deadline for a switch had passed.

Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe looked for a bright side to the elections.

"It was an extraordinary night for Democratic gubernatorial candidates. Fifty-five percent of Americans woke up today having a Democratic governor," he said.

Democrats made gains in the governors' races, although if the election trend held, they would fall short of their goal of winning a majority of the nation's statehouses.