Democrats Take House (Dan Balz)

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Two Dozen Seats Gained in House

By Dan Balz -- Washington Post

Nov. 8, 2006 -- Democrats recaptured the House last night, defeating Republican incumbents in every region of the country, and were close to gaining control of the Senate in midterm elections dominated by war, scandal and President Bush's leadership.

By early this morning, Democrats had picked up more than two dozen Republican-held House seats without losing any of their own, putting Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) into position to become the nation's first female speaker.

In an increasingly tense battle for control of the Senate, Democrats won seats in Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Virginia and Montana remained undecided, but Democrats were leading in those states, both needed to win power.

In Virginia, Sen. George Allen (R) trailed former Navy secretary James Webb by fewer than 7,800 votes. In Montana, Sen. Conrad Burns (R) was running about 10,000 votes behind state Senate President Jon Tester.

Democrats also scored heavily in gubernatorial races, picking up at least seven states to claim a majority nationally.