Victory is ours

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Alas, I still haven't recovered from the long election night, and I'm battling a nasty cold, but thankfully the co-bloggers have had a lot to say in response to the midterms. Make sure to scroll down to find their posts. And keep checking back for much more to come. In the meantime, here are a few points and thoughts, below the photo of Senator-elect Jim Webb:


Today was, to put it mildly, a pretty good day. Burns conceded in Montana and then Allen conceded in Virginia, forgoing an anticipated recount -- the last two races to be decided, and two pick-ups for the Democrats. This gives the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate. I predicted 50-50. Without Tennessee, I didn't think the Democrats would sweep the remaining races in question. Somehow I thought Allen would pull out a narrow victory in Virginia. I was wrong. And I'm happy to admit it.

Although much of the focus has been on the Senate and House, Democrats also did extremely well at the state level, picking up six governorships. This gives them 28 to the Republicans' 21 -- obviously, a majority. The still-undecided race is in Minnesota, where the Republican incumbent, Tim Pawlenty, leads Democrat Mike Hatch by about 22,500 votes, 47-46.

In the House, Democrats have picked up 29 seats, given them 229 to the Republicans' 196. Ten races remain undecided. These are CT-2, OH-2, OH-15, NC-08, GA-12, LA-02, TX-23, NM-01, WY-01, and WA-08.

Unfortunately, Republican Jean Schmidt (once Murtha's notorious foe) is well ahead of Democrat Victoria Wulsin in OH-2, and in NC-08 Democrat Larry Kissell trails Republican Robin Hayes by only 461 votes, but the Democratic candidate is ahead in CT-2 (by only 167 votes) and GA-12, and a Democrat, William Jefferson or another, is sure to win LA-02. That means that the Democrats could pick up three more seats, bringing their total to 232. Pretty impressive. Gerrymandering may have prevented a more commanding Democratic victory, as the editors of TNR predicted before the election, but Democrats nonetheless met and even exceeded expectations in the House.

Add that to their victories in the Senate and in state races across the country, and, well, the 2006 midterms turned out to be the foundation for a new direction in American politics. Bush still occupies the White House, and the Republicans remain a potent force in Congress, but let us celebrate this victory, and let us look forward to how a new Democratic Congress -- and I still can't quite believe it -- will work to guide America forward in the months and years ahead.