There will be at least eighteen new Democrats when the new House of Representative convenes in January:
House Democrats promised an agenda of improving the economy, ending the war in Iraq and expanding access to health care after gaining at least 18 additional seats in Tuesday’s elections, ballooning the size of the party’s congressional majority to its largest since 1994.
“Our increased numbers in the House will better enable us to work closely with our new president for a vision for America and for a plan to succeed,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference on Capitol Hill. “With our added numbers, more numbers in the House, more in the Senate and a Democrat in the White House, we have an opportunity, we have a responsibility, and the American people should and will hold us accountable.”
While some analysts had suggested that Democrats could gain more than 30 seats, the party appeared to have fallen short of that, but it will approach the total of 259 seats it held in 1994 before Republicans seized control of Congress that fall.
Among the pickups were Virginia’s 2nd District, where Glenn Nye defeated Thelma Drake and, of course, the Virginia 11.
At the same time, though, at least three districts, the outcome is still undecided:
In several contests the results were so close that a winner had not yet been determined. In the race to replace retiring Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R) in a district based on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, absentee ballots probably will decide the winner between Democrat Frank M. Kratovil Jr., a state’s attorney in Queen Anne’s County, and Andy Harris, a doctor.
Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) and Tom Perriello, a lawyer, also were in an unresolved race late yesterday, separated by fewer than 50 votes. The Ohio race between state Sen. Steve Stivers (R) and Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy to replace retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce (R) will not be decided for days as officials count absentee ballots.
Because Hurricane Gustav delayed Louisiana’s primaries in September, that state will hold elections for two House seats on Dec. 6.
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), who is awaiting trial on bribery charges, won the Democratic primary runoff held on Election Day and is expected to cruise to victory in his heavily African American district.
I think we can safely assume that Jefferson will hold onto his district, at least until he goes to prison.
In the Goode-Perilllo race, though, we’re headed for a recount:
Election officials tallied votes and pored over provisional ballots yesterday in the close contest between veteran Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R) and Democratic challenger Tom S. Perriello in a race that will determine whether Republicans maintain a majority of Virginia’s House seats.
As of last night, Perriello, a national security consultant, held a lead of 31 votes over the six-term Republican whose 5th Congressional District stretches from Charlottesville to the North Carolina border. But the results varied from hour to hour; at one point in the day, Goode led by six votes.
“More information is coming minute by minute,” said Jessica Barba, a spokeswoman for Perriello’s campaign. “We need to hold our breath until every vote is counted and make sure every voice is heard.”
The tallies fluctuated as election officials double-checked paperwork and reviewed provisional and absentee ballots, posting updated numbers every hour or so on the State Board of Elections Web site. Board officials said the results will not be certified until Nov. 24, after which the losing party can decide whether to request a recount.
And, in Maryland’s First District, it looks like absentee ballots may be the deciding factor:
The bitterly fought race in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District that pitted Democrat Frank M. Kratovil Jr. against Republican Andrew P. Harris will be decided by absentee ballot, state election officials said yesterday.
When the votes were tallied Tuesday night, Kratovil, the Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney, was ahead by fewer than 1,000 votes, of more than 329,000 cast. Election officials said they will begin counting 25,239 absentee ballots today.
Ross Goldstein, a spokesman for the Maryland State Board of Elections, said the race could be determined in a few days if a wider margin emerges and a candidate decides to concede. Otherwise, he said, it could take more than a week to obtain final results, and then there would be a chance of a recount.
If the Democrats won both contests, it would be a net pick-up of 20 seats which would add to the 31 seats they picked up in 2006
