Dems Take House, According to Projections

Updated 12.30 am Pacific
Projections have the Democrats winning control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. More from CNN, MSNBC, FOX.

As of this writing, Democrats are projected to take 24 House seats that were controlled by Republicans ... and they have lost none. They needed to take 15 seats to control the House. Key seats lost include the seats formerly held by Tom DeLay in Texas, by Bob Ney in Ohio and Mark Foley in Florida -- all scandal ridden. They have also picked up four of the six Senate seats necessary to take control of that body.

Exit polls suggest that Republicans lost their huge lead on the "terrorism" issue during this election. AP says that Democrats were winning among "independents, moderates, the middle class and suburban women" -- something noted here last month. And the middle class returned to the Democratic ticket.

Exit polls also show that four in 10 voters cast a vote against President Bush, "almost twice the number" who supported him with their vote.

What Does This Mean?
The short answer: no more rubberstamp Congress. A Presidency marked by one veto will have to change its tactics and strategies. In addition, the House holds the purse strings -- the 13 federal appropriations bills must originate there. And money sets priorities.

Democrats will now chair all House Committees, which means they set the House agenda. It remains to be seen if they will conduct investigations into Republican actions (look backwards, retribution) or if they will set a course for 2008 by being proactive. Will they take a high road towards statesmanship or continue on the prior leadership's path of partisan politics? For the sake of the Union, we can hope for the former.

Review Competitive House Races, Competitive Senate Races.