Republicans to Hold House
N E W Y O R K, Nov. 8 -- Republicans were expected to retain their majority in the House of Representatives by the slimmest of margins with Democrats gaining one or more seats, according to ABCNEWS projections.
Like the presidential race, the House races have been competitive, with the contests driven more by issues than strict partisanship. The fight for control of the House was played out in about three dozens races.
Republicans currently hold power in the House: 222 Republican seats compared to 209 Democrats and two independents (with two vacancies). That’s the slimmest majority since the Congress under President Dwight Eisenhower’s first term in 1953. Democrats would need seven seats to win back a majority.
Today, that did not look likely.
ABCNEWS projected Democrats to have won 211 seats with the Republicans at 220; two other seats of the total 435 were expected to go to third parties and the other two, in New Jersey’s 12th District and Florida’s 22nd District, were too close to call.
Republicans captured open Democratic seats in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia and Michigan, while vulnerable incumbents pulled out wins in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina.
Democrats defeated incumbent California Republican James Rogan, a House prosecutor at President Clinton’s impeachment trial. In Arkansas, Democratic challenger Mike Ross beat incumbent Republican Jay Dickey and in Utah, the Republican open seat was won by Democrat Jim Matheson.
With such results, it might be the first time since the 1920s that Republicans held power in the House and the Senate for four consecutive congressional sessions, and if Texas Gov. George W. Bush wins the presidency, it would be the first time since 1953-55 that they would control the White House, Senate and House.
Some of the key races:
Closest House Races
THE EAST
Connecticut 5th District (D)Incumbent: Rep. Jim Maloney (D)Challenger: State Sen. Mark Neilsen (R)
In what was one of the ugliest campaigns in the Northeast, U.S. Rep. Jim Maloney (D) has come out on top in a rematch against his challenger, state Sen. Mark Neilsen (R), according to Voter News Service, with 94 percent of the precincts reporting. Democrats hoped that Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s coattails would ensure victory for Maloney, who barely pulled out a win against Neilsen in 1998, taking the seat by 50 percent to 48 percent. Rep. Maloney won the seat 54 percent to 44 percent.
New Jersey 7th District (R-Open)Candidates: Mike Ferguson (R) vs. Maryanne Connelly (D)
With all precincts reporting, Republican nominee Mike Ferguson, a 30-year-old former Bronx high school teacher, who lost a bid for the state’s 6th Congressional District in 1998, appears to have eked out a win in a district that covers some of New Jersey’s wealthier suburbs as well as working class and rural areas. With 100 percent of the vote in, Ferguson takes the race with 50 percent of the vote over his opponent, Maryanne Connelly with 47 percent.
New Jersey 12th District (D)Incumbent: Rep. Rush Holt (D)Challenger: Dick Zimmer (R)
Officials say Republican Dick Zimmer has squeaked by in a close race to steal a seat from freshman Rep. Rush Holt (D). With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Zimmer won by a razor-thin margin: 156 votes, according to totalscompiled by county clerks in the 12th Congressional District. Zimmer refused to accept victory, and Holt did not concede. Both men promised to doublecheck the votes. Republicans were gunning for the seat because of Holt’s upset victory over one of their members in 1998. But Zimmer, who gave up this central New Jersey, Princeton-based seat in 1996 to make an unsuccessful bid for Bill Bradley’s open Senate seat, elevated this race to marquee status.
Pennsylvania 4th District (D-Open)Candidates: State Rep. Terry Van Horne (D) vs. State Sen. Melissa Hart (R)
In a race deemed by Republicans to be the most important in the country for determining whether the GOP keeps control of the House, state Sen. Melissa Hart (R) has won over challenger state Rep. Terry Van Horne (D), according to Voter News Service. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Hart had 59 percent of the vote to Van Horne’s 41 percent. Van Horne got a lot of bad press after his primary victory for a long-ago reference to a black fellow legislator as a “nigger.” The district leans Democratic but Hart knows it well and also raised serious money.
Pennsylvania 10th District (R)Incumbent: Rep. Don Sherwood (R)Challenger: Pat Casey (D)
Freshman Rep. Don Sherwood (R) once again has beaten Democrat Pat Casey, son of the late governor, Robert Casey, according to Voter News Service, with 100 percent of the precincts reporting. In the second consecutive close race between the pair, Rep. Sherwood held 53 percent to Casey’s 47 percent.
Pennsylvania 13th District (D)Incumbent: Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D)Challenger: State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf (R) In the state’s most famous swing district, freshman Democratic Rep. Joe Hoeffel held onto his seat, thwarting a challenge from Republican state Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, according to Voter News Service with 100 percent of the precincts reporting. Hoeffel, who was leading with 53 percent to Greenleaf’s 46 percent, is trying to become the first Democrat in decades to win re-election in the district.
West Virginia 2nd District (D-Open)Candidates: Jim Humphreys(D) vs. State Rep. Shelly Moore Capito (R)
Republican state Rep. Shelly Moore Capito has won this seat, getting 48 percent of the vote over Democratic candidate Jim Humphreys, who came in with 46 percent. Humphreys, a multi-millionaire attorney poured several million dollars into his own campaign.
THE SOUTH
Alabama 4th District (R)Incumbent: Rep. Robert Aderholt (R)Challenger: Marsha Folsom (D)
Incumbent Rep. Robert Aderholt (R), a local school board member, has retained his seat by a large margin against challenger Marsha Folsom (D), wife of former Gov. Jim Folsom (D). According to Voter News Service, with 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Aderholt was ahead of Folsom, 61 percent to 38 percent. The AFL-CIO worked hard to get out the vote for Folsom. Aderholt enjoys the backing of the NRA and has sponsored a bill giving states the authority to post the Ten Commandments in government buildings.
Arkansas 4th District (R)Incumbent: Rep. Jay Dickey (R)Challenger: State Sen. Mike Ross (D)
The southern third of the state, stretching from Pine Bluff and Little Rock’s southern suburbs on down to the border, supported Clinton by such wide margins in 1992 and 1996 that Democrats are convinced it remains their turf. And yet, Republican Jay Dickey managed to win here in 1992 and to hang onto this seat through three subsequent elections. Democrats argued that Dickey had weak challengers in 1996 and 1998, and that they finally have a strong opponent in state Sen. Mike Ross (D).
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