18
REPUBLICANS MAKE HISTORIC GAINS
In a turn of events that will have broad im-
plications for the United States housing market,
the midterm election saw voters turning the keys
to the Senate over to the Republican Party and
allowing them to further dominate the House
of Representatives. Democrat senators lost seven
seats to Republican contenders, giving Republi-
cans firm control over both houses of Congress.
Republicans now hold 52 seats in the U.S. Sen-
ate, compared to the 44 held by Democrats. Two
seats, Alaska and Louisiana, have still yet to be
called but look to be trending toward Republi-
can victories.
Republicans seized Senate wins in six of
seven key toss-up states. Alignment with Presi-
dent Barack Obama proved costliest for incum-
bents in the North Carolina and Iowa Senate
races, where Republican challengers hammered
their opponents for siding with the president's
policies and ultimately upended gains made by
Democrats in 2008. Sen. Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky is expected to succeed Harry Reid of
Nevada as the new Senate majority leader.
In the House, where Republicans have been
the majority since 2011, Democrats lost 13 seats.
Republicans now have a 244-183 majority in the
House. Republicans won 24 of 36 gubernato-
rial elections, in three cases ousting incumbent
Democrats; Republicans also took control of
state legislative bodies in nine states.
With their fears of a rout having come true,
Democrats now face a future in which their lofty
dreams of reclaiming the American political
landscape after eight years under the George
W. Bush administration become an attempt to
hold onto the regulatory legacy of the Obama
administration.
ELECTION SPOTLIGHT
THE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFTS.
SENATE CHANGES
HANDS:
53 REPUBLICAN; 44 DEMOCRAT;
2 INDEPENDENT; 1 RUN-OFF
GOP STRENGTHENS
GRIP ON THE HOUSE:
244 REPUBLICANS; 186 DEMOCRAT;
5 UNDECIDED
REPUBLICANS TAKE
24 OF 36 GOVERNOR
RACES:
53 44 244 24 186 12
