Democrats Win House & Maybe Senate

Democrats won control of the House early Wednesday after a dozen years of Republican rule in a resounding repudiation of a war, a president and a scandal-scarred Congress."From sea to shining sea, the American people voted for change," declared Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the hard-charging California Democrat in line to become the nation's first female House speaker. "Today we have made history," she said, "now let us make progress." Lameduck Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., was elected to an 11th term, but several GOP officials said they expected him to step down as party leader and possibly even retire from Congress. The White House made plans for President Bush to call the speaker-in-waiting, Pelosi, first thing in the morning; he will enter his final two years in office with at least half of Congress in the opposition party's hands. "It's been kind of tough out there," Hastert said. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow observed: "It's not like a slap on the forehead kind of shock." By 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, Democrats had won 228 seats, enough for control, and were leading for another 4, which would give them 232. Republicans, who hold 229 seats in the current House, won 193 and were leading in another 10, which would give them 203.