By Abri Nelson

Democrats won at least 28 contested House races around the country, far more than needed to become the majority there for the first time since 1994.

Many voters apparently had their minds on national, not local, issues as they came to the polls in record numbers Tuesday.

With the House in Democratic hands, and the Senate teetering in that direction, President Bush faces a divided government for the first time since he won election in 2000.

“You won’t have the coordination of one-party government that we’ve had for a long time,” said Mark Rush, a politics professor at Washington and Lee University.

Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-6th District, held onto his seat, but two virtually unknown independent candidates Andre Peery and Barbara Jean Pryor amassed a surprising 25 percent of the vote in that race.

Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd District, held on to her seat by defeating Philip Kellam, her Democratic challenger, 51.3 to 48.5 percent.

Meanwhile, in races that could determine control of the Senate, Rep. Bernie Sanders, an independent who would vote with the Democrats, was elected senator in Vermont, and Missouri's Republican Sen. Jim Talent was defeated by Democratic state auditor Claire McCaskill. In Ohio, Democrat Rep. Sherrod Brown defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine in Ohio, and Democrat incumbent Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey held off the challenge by Republican Tom Kean Jr.

In Tennessee, on the other hand, Republican Bob Corker appears to have beat Democratic Rep. Harold Ford for the open Senate seat.

The Republicans have held control of the House and the Senate since the midterm upset of 1994, with a brief 19-month exception in 2001 and 2002 when Sen. Jim Jeffords switched from Republican to independent.

Republican domination of Congress has allowed most of President Bush’s policies to pass without much opposition, paving the way for U.S. involvement in Iraq and the administration’s approach to fighting the “war on terror.”

Democrats needed to gain 15 seats to have the majority of the House - 218 out of 435 seats. Winning at least 28 pave the way for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to become the first female speaker of the House, and allows the Democratic Party to influence policy, or at least question it through high-profile hearings, for the first time in 12 years.

The election came down to 50 races from Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The seat of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was up for grabs after DeLay resigned over the summer due to charges related to a campaign finance scheme.

Only Democrat Nick Lampson and Libertarian Bob Smither were on the ballot for DeLay’s seat, but Houston city council member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs mounted a strong campaign to be the lead Republican write-in candidate.

It was not just the number of candidates but their relative vulnerability, said Rush.

In the U.S. Senate, where 33 seats were up for election, Democrats need to capture six in order to gain a majority.

A key to that balance may be the still-uncertain outcome in Virginia. The race between Republican Sen. George Allen and his challenger, Democrat Jim Webb, remains too close to call ahead of a recount.

They ran one of the nastiest and most contested campaigns this election year, according to voting officials. Both Allen and Webb ran negative advertisements that voters said turned them off to the election.

“I can’t stand it when they’re going against each other,” said Kristen Rockwood of Lexington. “I’m really annoyed. I don’t want to vote anymore.”

Rockwood said that she usually votes for Republican candidates, but was considering voting for Webb because he seemed to be running a cleaner campaign.

With Democrats controlling the House, it will be harder for Bush to continue his course of action in Iraq. He has used his presidential veto only once, but he may do so often now.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.

Lead supervisor:      Prof. Claudette Artwick

Reporting supervisors:

Prof. Doug Cumming

Prof. Robert de Maria

Prof. Phylissa Mitchell

Technical supervisor:  Michael Todd