KEY POINTS:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
228 Democrats
196 Republicans
All 435 seats are elected at the same time, every two years. The seats are allocated to states according to population. This year, the Democrats have turned an overall deficit of 30 to a majority of 32. There are 11 seats vacant.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT GAINS
Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin.
THE SENATE
49 Republicans
51 Democrats
(incl 2 Independents)
Two election gains - in Montana and Virginia - were disputed but the US media yesterday reported that counts showed the Democrats had gained the six seats needed for outright control in the 100-seat Senate. Each state has two senators, and 33 places were up for grabs this time. Senators serve six years, with one-third elected at two-yearly intervals
SENATE DEMOCRAT GAINS
Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia.
In Virginia, Democrat Jim Webb led by 7236 over Republican Senator George Allen, who refused to concede defeat. The final count could take a week, with a winner certified on November 27. Any recount could stretch into December. In Montana, Republican Senator Conrad Burns refused to concede to Democrat Jon Tester. The state's Democratic governor said Tester had won.
SOME DEMOCRAT PRIORITIES
* Military: Force an immediate reduction of troops in Iraq and conduct hearings on missteps in the war. The announcement that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is resigning met Democratic demands that he step down to take responsibility for the situation in Iraq.
* Intelligence: Increase attention given to emerging terrorist threats in Africa and Southeast Asia and devote more resources to North Korea and Iran. More oversight of terrorism and government surveillance.
* Judiciary: Conduct oversight hearings on treatment of terrorism detainees, domestic surveillance programmes and President George W. Bush's use of "signing statements" to bypass some requirements in the laws he signs.
* Minimum wage: Pass legislation to raise the minimum wage from US$5.15 an hour to US$7.25.
* Trade: Let a law expire that prohibits Congress from amending trade agreements negotiated by the President. Create a chief enforcement officer in the office of the US trade representative.
* Energy and environment: Increase incentives for biodiesel, ethanol and other alternative fuels as well as wind, solar, geothermal and other sources of alternative energy. Renegotiate oil and gas leases that waived royalty payments to the Government. Impose a national cap on industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Resist Bush's efforts to open more public lands to oil exploration.
OTHER BALLOT ISSUES
* Abortion: In South Dakota voters rejected by 55-45 per cent a measure that would have banned abortion in every circumstance except a threat to the life of the pregnant woman.
* Gay marriage: Arizona voted against a measure that would have defined marriage as a one-man, one-woman institution, becoming the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage. So far, 20 states have voted to ban gay marriage.
* Stem cell research: In Missouri voters narrowly passed a measure to allow stem cell research. Actor Michael J. Fox had campaigned on the issue.
* Immigration: Arizona voters passed four measures considered by critics to be unfairly discriminatory towards illegal immigrants.
* Marijuana: Nevada and Colorado voters rejected measures that would have legalised possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. In South Dakota, voters defeated a proposal that would have allowed marijuana use for some medical purposes.
- REUTERS, agencies
