According to the first incomplete results of the American congressional and gubernatorial elections, opposition Republicans have won a convincing majority in the elections for the House of Representatives, while Democrats have managed to maintain a minimal majority in the Senate.
The current results show a strong shift to the right across the country, aided by the success of about 20 Republican candidates supported by the conservative Tea Party movement. In the voting for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, Republicans won 234 seats, Democrats 180, and the result for 21 seats is still undecided, reported American TV networks. In the voting for 37 out of 100 seats in the Senate, Democrats retained a minimal majority with 51 seats, Republicans won 47, and two seats are still undecided.
Republicans needed to win 39 seats previously held by Democrats to take control of the House of Representatives, and current results indicate they have won more than 50 seats. Many long-serving Democratic representatives lost their seats in the House, and dozens of Democrats elected to that House in 2008, along with the election of President Barack Obama to the White House, were ousted on a wave of voter dissatisfaction. Liberals, moderates, and conservative Democrats recorded equally poor results.
Obama, whose former Senate seat was taken by Republican Mark Kirk, called Congressman John Boehner from Ohio, the likely new Speaker of the House, congratulating him on the success of the Republican Party and expressing hope that they would find common ground in future cohabitation. The White House announced Obama’s press conference. Analyst at the Pew Research Center Andrew Kohut assessed that the decisive factor was the gap in voter enthusiasm, as exit polls indicated that conservatives had a strong turnout, while young voters and African Americans significantly underperformed compared to 2008 when their turnout was crucial for Obama’s victory.
