U.S. news media say Democrats have retained control of the U.S.
Congress, and captured at least four Senate seats from their Republican
rivals.
In a Senate race in (the southeastern state of) Virginia,
former Governor Mark Warner is projected to defeat Republican Jim
Gilmore in a bid to replace retiring long-time Republican Senator John
Warner. The two Warners are not related.
In (the southeastern state of) North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan is projected to defeat incumbent Senator Elizabeth Dole, a key name in the Republican party.
Voters in (the northeastern state of) New Hampshire and (southwestern state of) New Mexico are also projected to have elected Democrats (Jeanne Shaheen and Tom Udall, respectively) over Republican rivals (John Sununu in New Hampshire and New Mexico's Pete Domenici, who is retiring) in Senate races.
Democrats have also expanded their majority in the House of
Representatives with projected wins over two Republican incumbents in (the southeastern state of) Florida and (northeastern state of) Connecticut.
Thirty-five seats in the 100-member Senate, and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election.
Democrats hope to win enough Senate seats to give them an influential
60-vote majority that would allow them to prevent Republicans from
blocking and, ultimately, killing legislation.
Other projected winners in the Senate include Republican leader Mitch
McConnell and Democrats Dick Durbin of Illinois and U.S. vice
presidential candidate Joe Biden of Delaware. Biden will relinquish the
seat with the presidential ticket's victory.
Republicans have warned that the Democrats could impose high taxes and
other costly programs with control of both chambers of Congress and the
presidency.
The Democratic Party has not controlled the presidency and the Congress
since the early 1990s under former President Bill Clinton.