When it was all over but the last of the counting (and that could take a while) Election Day came down to an unpopular president, an unpopular war and the weight they put on an electorate that decided it was no longer wise to stay the course.
By comfortable margins, the Democrats took control of the U.S. House for the first time in a dozen years and were within striking distance of taking the Senate, too, but three key races — in Virginia, Missouri and Montana — seemed too close to call and could lead to ballot recount battles.
Democrats swept elections across Illinois, with Gov. Rod Blagojevich defeating challenger Judy Baar Topinka and Green candidate Rich Whitney. The Democrats also reelected Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White and Comptroller Dan Hynes. Democrat Alexi Giannoulias won Topinka’s state treasurer’s job.
In Cook County, it looked as though Democrat Todd Stroger was fending off a challenge from Republican Tony Peraica in the contest for Cook County Board president, the job held by Stroger’s father, who was disabled by a stroke just before the primary election. With about 60 percent of the vote counted, Stroger had 55 percent of the ballots cast.
“We’re ahead, and we’re going to stay ahead,” Stroger told a crowd of supporters around 12:25 a.m. Wednesday. “But unfortunately they count these ballots by hand, so we’re probably talking 3 a.m., 4 a.m., and by that time I’ll probably be falling down dead. So we’re going to have to come back!”
“We’re not conceding a thing!” Peraica said to scores of supporters. “We are not going to have this election stolen from us. All of us have worked too hard.”
In Illinois Congressional contests, Republican Peter Roskam won a narrow victory over Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth in the 6th District race to replace retiring GOP veteran Henry Hyde. Duckworth, who lost her legs in combat in Iraq, drew the attention of the nation to the contest.
“I’d like to congratulate Tammy on a good campaign,” Roskam said. “I know she’s served her country honorably and sacrificed greatly.”
“This is so much bigger than each individual one of us,” Duckworth said in her concession speech. “Today, this past year, you made this country a little bit better, and for that I thank you.”
U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a Democrat, won her fierce battle for re-election against David McSweeney, who conceded at his campaign headquarters in Lake Zurich.
In her victory speech Bean thanked her supporters and pointed out that the election was “about my own accountability and my performance.”
Noting her breakthrough in a former solidly Republican district that made her a freshman representative in 2004, she said, “I think we were a little ahead of the curve two years ago.”
“We came up a little bit short tonight,” McSweeney said. “I’m very proud of the campaign that we ran. I congratulated her on running a good race and want to wish her the best, because what we need to focus on is what’s best for our country.”
Perhaps the biggest winner of the day was U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanual, who handily carried his own Illinois 5th Congressional District and is destined to become the hero of the Democratic takeover of the House, which he engineered.
He predicted a “new era of reform.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who is in line to be elected Speaker of the House, will be the first woman in history to hold that position.
“Let’s give a big cheer to the American people,” Pelosi said. She also seemed to be sending a message to President Bush that there must be change in policy on the Iraq war.
Democrats fared well in their contests for state houses across the nation, too. In Ohio, Rep. Ted Strickland easily defeated Republican Ken Blackwell and will become Ohio’s first Democratic governor in 16 years. Deval Patrick beat Republican Kerry Healey in Massachusetts and will become the state’s first black governor. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer won the New York governor’s race in a landslide.
Polling of voters after they had cast their ballots made it clear that the election was, indeed, a referendum on President Bush’s performance and the war in Iraq.
But a string of scandals in Congress took their toll, too, particularly among Evangelical voters, who, the Associated Press reported, shifted about a third of their votes into the Democratic column.
11:34 PM CST: State Sen. Peter Roskam defeated Tammy Duckworth, the Iraq war veteran who lost both legs in combat and was recruited by the Democrats in a bid to fill the seat vacated by retiring Republican Henry Hyde.
“Friends, it looks like we’ve won a seat in the United States House of Representatives,” said Roskam, his wife and family at his side. “I look forward to moving into this responsibility.”
Duckworth, whose injuries and campaign style drew national attention to the race in the 6th District, said she just wanted to get some rest.
“We’ve been through a lot and we have a lot of hard work to do in this country,” she said in conceding. “It’s the most patriotic thing anybody can do in this country, to stand up, make your voices heard and make a difference.”
Video: Tammy Duckworth speaks
Video: Peter Roskam speaks
11:12 PM CST: That sound that hit late Tuesday night was a wrenching shift of gears in the U.S. House, where Democrats grabbed control from Republicans for the first time in a dozen years.
With at least 19 victories in formerly Republican districts, the Democrats moved well into the territory they needed to win House control.
That means trouble for President Bush, whose declining standing with the electorate dragged his party down, exit polls showed, and a big change in the way Capitol Hill will operate. Among other things, Congress will see a woman make history as California U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi steps in as speaker of the House.
At this point, it’s still hard to say what will happen in the U.S. Senate, where pitched battles are underway for at least four seats. The Democrats have picked up three of the six they need to control the upper chamber, but the remaining races were just too close to call.
Exit polls showed President Bush and the Republicans were saddled with three problems, one of them the president’s standing, the second the Iraq war and the third the concerns about a series of corruption scandals that had plagued Congress over the past few years.
In Illinois, the Democrats started with a strong performance at the top of the ticket and were hoping for a sweep of state offices. Incumbent Gov. Rod Blagojevich, battling with corruption problems, handily defeated challenger Judy Baar Topinka.
With about half the precincts reporting, Blagojevich had 53 percent of the vote, Topinka had 37 percent and Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, the Carbondale attorney, had about 10 percent, according to unofficial returns.
The Democrats were also hoping to win the state treasurer post and congressional seats. Incumbents Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Secretary of State Jesse White and Comptroller Dan Hynes were reelected.
Joined by his family, his brother and the family of Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, Blagojevich celebrated with about 500 supporters at A. Finkl & Sons, the Near North Side steelworks where his father once worked and where he announced his campaign for governor four years ago. He greeted the crowd to Elvis Presley’s rendition of “CC Ryder.”
“I think it’s fair to say I’m all shook up,” the governor said. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Meanwhile, Topinka told her election night party at Swissotel that she has had a “great run” in her political career and that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
“Public service is a good thing,” she said.
10:51 PM CST: Gov. Rod Blagojevich claimed victory tonight over Republican gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka.
“I think it’s fair to say I’m all shook up,” Blagojevich said during a victory speech in Chicago.
“I want the people of Illinois to know you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
The governor thanked Topinka for her “graciousness” and said “she loves the state of Illinois.”
“You all want better for your kids than you had for yourself that has been the guiding principle of my administration; getting things done for people,” Blagojevich said.
A short time later, in her concession speech, Topinka said, “I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the public and — this is terrific — how many people can say they’ve been in politics for 26 years and have so much to show for it?”
“Illinois is a great state and we all ought to be proud of it … Congratulate Blagojevich tonight, that’s the way it goes, God bless him.”
Video: Rod Blagojevich speaks
Video: Judy Baar Topinka speaks
The state house race is over in Illinois then, but the campaign presses on across the nation.
Even before the results are counted, the reasons behind Tuesday’s vote are emerging through that most maligned of campaign day tools, the exit poll. It appears the Republicans have lost their key issue, terrorism, and that the congressional scandals and Iraq war have given a strong boost to Democrats.
On the whole, Democrats seemed to be making big strides in early voting results, but it was clear that this would be a late night in a lot of the nation, where voters were witnessing surprisingly close races.
A foggy picture was emerging as election night wore on.
The Republicans seemed to be holding their strength in the south, but Democrats were making big inroads in the rest of the country. That assessment came from James Carville, the Democratic strategist.
Topinka was miffed at an early call from the Associated Press that gave the Illinois contest to the incumbent Democrat.
At Topinka’s election night party at the Swissotel in Chicago, her running mate, Joe Birkett, said the call was too early. It dampened the mood at the party, where supporters mingled in an elegant ballroom and listened to “Play That Funky Music White Boy.” All of that was moot just a couple of hours later.
About three-quarters of voters said corruption and scandals were important motivators in their votes and that the ethical track record in the House over the past two years led them to vote for Democrats. Voters who were motivated primarily by concerns about terrorism-strong voters for the Republicans in the past-split their votes.
The Associated Press said the exit polls showed deep anger at President Bush and Republican congressional leadership. That gave the Democrats the advantage among some groups that had tended to vote Republican in the past, independents, moderates, the middle class and suburban women.
Democrats and Republicans split the vote for the House among white voters. Four years ago Republicans claimed a majority of white voters in those races. Three quarters of Hispanics backed Democrats and a quarter backed the Republicans, a decline in support among Hispanics for Republicans.
Most white evangelicals questioned by exit pollsters reported that corruption was an important issue. Almost a third of them voted Democratic this time around.
The polls were conducted for the Associated Press and TV networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.
WGN-TV video: Voting day problems
8:35 PM CST: It is shaping up as an important day for the national Democrats.
As election returns pour in, Democrats have won important contests in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, Bob Casey, the son of the legendary Democratic governor, defeated incumbent Republican Rick Santorum by what appears to be a substantial margin in a contest that drew millions of dollars of support from the Democratic and Republican parties.
Democrats also won governor’s seats in Ohio and Massachusetts for the first time in more than a decade.
The Associated Press reports that exit polls around the nation showed Democrats were winning the support of independent voters by a margin of almost two to one. Middle class voters, the AP reported, left the Republicans behind in contests across the nation.
There was a strong negative trend in those surveys against President Bush, with about 6 in 10 voters saying they disapproved of how Bush handles his job. About the same number said they opposed the war in Iraq.
The surveys showed that voters who were concerned about the various scandals that have plagued Congress over the past four years tended to vote Democratic.
It remained to be seen whether the Democratic edge would hold through the night, but the early results showed clearly that President Bush and Iraq were deciding factors for many voters. The president’s performance standings have been in decline for months, as has support for the war.
All 435 U.S. House seats were decided on Tuesday and Democrats needed to win 15 key contests to wrest control from the House Republicans. A shift in half a dozen seats in the U.S. Senate would give control of the upper chamber to the Democrats.
7:37 PM CST: It’s all over now but the counting in Illinois and just about every place east.
The west is yet to come.
By the end of the night, we should know whether we’re in for one of those sea changes people are always predicting, or whether the vaunted Republican turnout machine has pushed back a tide of polling results that made it look like a very strong day for Democrats.
The election results will be closely watched for signs of a national groundswell on the Iraq war. Polling over the past few months have shown support for the war in steep decline.
Only a few minutes after the polls closed in many places, including Illinois, writers were turning to exit polls to predict the outcome long before the votes were counted.
That happened, of course, in Illinois, where the Associated Press announced Gov. Rod Blagojevich had defeated Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka to win a second term.
Cooler heads, particularly those here at the Tribune, are waiting for some counting before anyone is anointed victor in the gubernatorial race. The turnout was said to be big downstate, which could help Topinka, and polling stations in some suburban counties, where Republicans are strong, remained opened late.
It was a big day across the country as voters picked members of Congress everywhere, a third of the Senate and governors and state legislators, too.
It will be particularly important to watch those state legislative races, as obscure as they might seem, because legislatures decide the shape of Congressional districts, and if Democrats fare well at the end of the day, look for big changes in Congressional district mapping.
Locally, the expected confusion over touch screen voting and the problems inherent in using paper ballots showed up just as the polls opened at the beginning of the day.
Cook County reported there were dozens of complaints about voting machines early in the day. Then there was the problem of the disappearing ink pens. Many voters apparently thought those things were special election-day gifts and walked away with them.
A pen shortage developed by mid-morning.
Nationally, early results were starting to pour in. Democrats won the governor’s office in Ohio, where U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland defeated Republican Ken Blackwell, the secretary of state who had played a big role in President Bush’s victory in Ohio.
